Advertising Insertion, Profiling, Impression, and Feedback

ABSTRACT

Various apparatus, methods and systems for insertion of advertisements in various environments are provided. Apparatus, methods and systems for profiling users, registering advertisement impressions and generating feedback in response to advertisement viewing are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation and claims priority benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,031 filed Apr. 7, 2006 andtitled “Advertisement Insertion, Profiling, Impression, and Feedback,”which is a continuation-in-part and claims the priority benefit of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/085,675 filed Mar. 21, 2005 and titled“Apparatus and Method for Executing a Game Program Having AdvertisementsTherein,” which is a continuation and claims the priority benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/007,522 filed Dec. 6, 2001 and nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,882,978, which is a continuation and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/384,894 filed Aug. 27,1999 and now abandoned, which is a continuation and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/672,116 filed Jun. 27,1996 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,664, which claims the foreign prioritybenefit of Japanese patent application number 7-166682 filed Jun. 30,1995; the present application is also a continuation-in-part and claimsthe priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/452,811filed Dec. 2, 1999 and entitled “Method and System for Enabling OptionalCustomer Election of Auxiliary Content Provided on Detachable LocalStorage Media”; the present application is also a continuation-in-partand claims the priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/771,751 filed Jan. 29, 2001 and entitled “Method and System forProviding Auxiliary Content Located on Local Storage DuringDownload/Access of Primary Content Over a Network”; the presentapplication is also a continuation-in-part and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/780,995 filed Feb. 9,2001 and entitled “In-Contents Advertising Method, In-ContentsAdvertising Server, and Program-Transferring Medium for RealizingIn-Contents Advertising,” which claims the foreign priority benefit ofJapanese patent application number 2000-375096 filed Dec. 18, 2000 andJapanese patent application number 2000-241861 filed Jul. 4, 2000; thepresent application is also a continuation-in-part and claims thepriority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,229 filedSep. 30, 2005 and entitled “Advertising Impression Determination.” Thedisclosure of all of these applications is incorporated herein byreference.

The present application is also related to U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,544 andentitled “Game Machine System, Broadcasting System, Data DistributionSystem, and Method, Program Executing Apparatus and Method.” Thedisclosure of this patent is also incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Apparatus and Method for Executing a GameProgram Having Advertisements

The present invention relates to executing a game program havingadvertisements therein and, more particularly, to apparatus and methodsfor executing a game program in which advertisements can be updated bydownloading new advertisement data.

Enabling Optional Customer Election of Auxiliary Content

The present invention further relates to systems for engaging ininteractive entertainment or for accessing non-interactive entertainmentusing a networked game console connected to a content provider over abi-directional network, and more specifically to maintenance andaccessing of customer and content databases which support such systems,for enabling playback of both valuable primary content along withauxiliary content such as targeted advertisements.

Providing Auxiliary Content Located on Local Storage DuringDownload/Access of Primary Content Over a Network

The present invention further relates to systems and methods forproviding auxiliary content located on local storage to a clientconnected to a primary content provider over a bi-directional network,and more specifically to accessing auxiliary content duringdownload/access of primary content over the network, enablingdissemination of auxiliary content during otherwise dormant waitperiods.

In-Contents Advertising Method

The present invention also relates to an in-contents advertising method,an in-contents advertising server, and a program-transferring medium forrealizing in-contents advertising, suitable for displayingadvertisements of advertisers in contents such as games. Morespecifically, the present invention obtains advertisement informationappropriated beforehand to contents, at the time of activation of thecontents, and inserts the advertisement information in the contents,based on commissioning from advertisers, and information containedwithin contents indicating that advertisements may be inserted, therebyenabling advertising within the contents.

Advertising Impression Determination

The present invention also relates to targeted advertising, such as anadvertising system and method for dynamically displaying advertisementsin the context of video games (i.e., in-game advertising). Morespecifically, the present invention provides for the determination andtracking of advertising impressions in response to users interactingwith video games having in-game advertising functionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Apparatus and Method for Executing a GameProgram Having Advertisements

In one embodiment of the present invention, apparatus and method forexecuting a game program having advertisements therein are provided.Apparatus and methods are also provided for execution of a game programcontaining advertisements, which are subject to modification. Certainlimitations may be placed on the execution of a game program, in someembodiments, if advertisement information has not been updated.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, variousapparatus and methods operate to store a game program in a memory,receive (e.g., download via a transmission line) at predetermined times(e.g., on each new day or each time the game program is executed, oreach time the game system is turned on) advertising data that relates toat least one advertisement, store the received advertising data in thememory, execute the game program stored in the memory, and outputdisplay data, which corresponds to the advertisement data stored in thememory in accordance with the game program. Some embodiments of thepresent invention include a game program received with advertising dataready for execution.

In additional embodiments of the present invention, a gameidentification code, which identifies the game program to be executed,is transmitted to a game service provider, and advertising data thatcorresponds to the game program identified by the game identificationcode is received from the game service provider.

In the various embodiments of the present invention, a plurality ofadvertising data corresponding to a plurality of game programs arereceived (e.g., via a satellite transmission), and display data whichcorrespond to advertisement data of the executed game program is outputduring the execution thereof.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention,apparatus and methods operate to store a game program and advertisingdata that relates to a plurality of advertisements in a memory, receiveat predetermined times advertising selection data that identifiesselected advertisements stored in the memory, execute the game programstored in the memory, and output display data which corresponds to theselected advertisements as identified in the advertising selection dataat respective times in accordance with the game program.

Enabling Optional Customer Election of Auxiliary Content

An embodiment of the present invention provides a system and methodwhereby advertisements are made available to customers via a detachablelocal storage medium, such as a DVD or CD-ROM disc, which is intended tobe inserted into a game console connected via a bi-directional networkto a specified content provider, wherein the game console includes acontrol function for enabling the auxiliary content such asadvertisements to be viewed, at the option of the customer, while thecustomer accesses valuable media content from a primary content databasemaintained solely by the content provider.

Additional embodiments of the present invention provide a system andmethod as described above, wherein viewing of auxiliary data such asadvertisements can be disabled by a control function of the game consoleat any time prior to download or during playback of the primary mediadata.

Still further embodiments provide a system and method as describedabove, wherein a record is maintained of times and durations for which acustomer has elected to view auxiliary content along with viewing ofvaluable media content, wherein an auxiliary content viewing record issubsequently uploaded to the server station maintained by the contentprovider and can be used as a basis for assessing advertising fees to anadvertiser, as well as updating of the customer database.

A further embodiment of the present invention provides a system andmethod as described above, wherein a customer database is maintained inthe server station, containing identifying information of users whoaccess the server station, wherein such identifying information iscapable of being downloaded into the game console in order to enableonly auxiliary content which is customized based on a user'sidentification profile to be loaded and viewed.

Additional embodiments provide key data, which may include a media orcustomer identifier and an authentication code, on the detachable localstorage medium on the client side of the system, whereby the key data isused to authenticate access to a specified server station which providesprimary media content, and whereby such primary media content cannot beaccessed unless the local storage medium is inserted into the gameconsole.

As a result of the above described embodiments, improvements over knownadvertisement methods can be achieved. As an advertisement medium, byuse of a local storage medium such as CD-ROM or DVD, there is no need asin the prior art for advertisers to expend costs for maintenance of alarge scale advertisement database on the server side of the system.Therefore, advertisers are afforded great flexibility in preparing theirown advertising content on relatively low cost packaged media, where atthe same time advertisers can associate their auxiliary content withspecified valuable media content downloadable from a main contentprovider.

Additionally, the cost and time associated with downloading of largevolume auxiliary data are avoided. Because the cost of packaged mediasuch as CD-ROM or DVD is relatively low, advertisers have the advantageof being able to easily distribute such media as inserts in magazinesand the like. In addition, because of their ability to hold large scaledata, such detachable packaged media have the ability to handlemulti-colored animation or lengthy playing of auxiliary content which ishighly suitable for advertisements.

A significant advantage of the present invention is the ability foradvertisers to associate their auxiliary content with specified highlypopular and valuable primary media content such as feature movies,interactive games, popular utility programs and the like, which aredownloaded from the main content server. That is, merely by contractingwith and following a prescribed format determined by the primary mediacontent provider, advertisers are then able to easily manufacture theirown advertisement containing CD-ROM or DVD media discs which are easilydistributed to customers. Because of their association with popular andvaluable primary media content, customers become highly motivated to usesuch CD-ROM or DVD media as a means for gaining access to the primarymedia content.

Providing Auxiliary Content Located on Local Storage DuringDownload/Access of Primary Content Over a Network

An embodiment of the present invention provides a system andcomputer-based method for providing auxiliary content located on localstorage to a client connected to a primary content provider over anetwork, particularly during transfer of primary content via a serverdedicated to download operations. Control over the auxiliary content,primary content and/or the download management server is exercised by adistributor.

The exemplary system includes the download management server, a customerdatabase and a primary content database on the server side, and a clientconsole including a local storage device containing the auxiliarycontent on the client side. The auxiliary content provided can be variedbased on one or more user preferences, one or more distributorpreferences, or a combination of both user and distributor preferenceinformation With respect to user preferences, either previously acquiredinformation is used or the user is prompted to chose from a selection ofspecific content items and categories of content; default content isprovided if no user preferences are available/selected.

With respect to exemplary distributor preferences, the downloadmanagement server sends the user auxiliary content assignment databefore sending the requested primary content; according to the data, theclient computer executes the appropriate auxiliary content stored in thelocal storage. The auxiliary content is stored in the local storageprior to download of the primary content from the download managementserver, though the user can acquire the local storage and/or auxiliarycontent by a variety of means (e.g., the auxiliary content can beprovided on a CD-ROM, sent to a client hard drive over the network,etc.).

An embodiment of the present invention provides a system and methodwhereby advertisements or auxiliary content are made available tocustomers via removable local storage, such as a DVD or CD-ROM disc,which is intended to be inserted into a client console connected via abi-directional network to a specified content provider, wherein theclient console includes a control function for enabling the auxiliarycontent such as advertisements to be viewed, at the option of thecustomer, while the customer accesses valuable content from a primarycontent database maintained solely by the content provider.

An additional embodiment of the present invention provides a system andmethod as described above, wherein a customer database is maintained inthe server station, containing identifying information of users whoaccess the server station, wherein such identifying information iscapable of being downloaded into the client console in order to enableonly auxiliary content which is customized based on a user'sidentification profile to be loaded and viewed.

A still further embodiment of the present invention provides key data,which may include a local storage device identifier or customeridentifier and an authentication code, on removable local storage on theclient side of the system, whereby the key data is used to authenticateaccess to a specified server station which provides primary content, andwhereby such primary content cannot be accessed unless the local storageis inserted into the client console.

As a result of the above-described objects of the invention,improvements over known advertisement methods can be achieved As anadvertisement medium, by use of local storage such as CD-ROM or DVD,there is no need as in the prior art for advertisers to expend costs formaintenance of a large-scale advertisement database on the server sideof the system. Therefore, advertisers are afforded great flexibility inpreparing their own advertising content on relatively low cost packagedstorage media, where at the same time advertisers can associate theirauxiliary content with specified valuable primary content downloadablefrom a main primary content provider.

Furthermore, the cost and time associated with downloading oflarge-volume auxiliary data can be avoided. Because the cost of packagedstorage media such as CD-ROM or DVD is relatively low, advertisers havethe advantage of being able to easily distribute such devices as insertsin magazines and the like. In addition, because of their ability to holdlarge amounts of data, such removable packaged storage media have theability to handle multicolored animation or other lengthy auxiliarycontent, which is highly suitable for advertisements.

A significant advantage of the present invention is the ability forcontent providers to associate their auxiliary content with specifiedhighly popular and valuable primary content such as feature movies,interactive games, popular utility programs and the like, which aredownloaded from the main content server. That is, merely by contractingwith and following a prescribed format determined by the primary contentprovider, advertisers are then able to easily manufacture their ownadvertisement containing CD-ROM or DVD discs which are easilydistributed to customers. Because of their association with popular andvaluable primary content, customers become highly motivated to useCD-ROM or DVD as a means for gaining access to the primary content.

In-Contents Advertising Method

An embodiment of the disclosed in-contents advertising method accordingto the present invention includes advertisement information providedbeforehand in contents, based on information contained within contentsindicating that advertisements may be inserted within the contents.

Additionally, an embodiment of the exemplary in-contents advertisingserver according to the present invention inserts advertisementinformation in contents, based on specifications of the advertiser, andinformation contained within contents indicating that advertisements maybe inserted.

The exemplary program transferring medium according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is for realizing in-contents advertisements byobtaining advertisement information appropriated beforehand to thecontents, at the time of activation of the contents, and inserting theadvertisement information in the contents, based on informationcontained within contents indicating that advertisements may beinserted.

An exemplary digital contents distribution system according to anembodiment of the present invention for realizing in-contentsadvertisements comprises: a digital contents distribution systemcomprising a first server storing a plurality of digital contents to beprovided; an advertisement information providing system comprising adatabase storing advertisement information which is to be set inadvertisement areas in the digital contents; and a plurality of userterminal devices; wherein, in response to download requests for specificdigital contents from the users, the digital contents distributionsystem receives advertisement information corresponding to the specificdigital contents from the database of the advertisement informationproviding system, and subsequently distributes the specific digitalcontents to the user.

An embodiment of the digital contents distribution system for realizingin-contents advertisements according to an embodiment of the presentinvention comprises: a digital contents distribution system comprising afirst server storing a plurality of digital contents to be provided; anadvertisement information providing system comprising a database storingadvertisement information which is to be set in advertisement areas inthe digital contents; and a plurality of user terminal devices; wherein,in response to download requests for specific digital contents from theusers, the digital contents distribution system distributes the specificdigital contents to the user; and wherein the advertisement informationproviding system transmits advertisement information corresponding tothe specific digital contents from the database, to the user.

Certain embodiments of the presently digital contents distributionsystem according to the present invention may configure a network of thedigital contents distribution system comprising the first server, theadvertisement information providing system comprising the database, andthe plurality of user terminal devices, using one, or two or more, ofthe following means: cable television, broad-band wireless network, andoptical fiber network.

An embodiment of the digital contents distribution system according tothe present invention may further comprise means for recording thetransmission state of the advertisement information, with advertisingfees being calculated based on the recording results, and may furthercomprise a contents providing system for creating contents and providingthe contents to the digital contents providing system, and anadvertisement creating system for creating advertisement information andproviding the advertisement information to the advertisement informationproviding system.

Some embodiments of the digital contents distribution system may furthercomprise a banking system, wherein the advertisement informationproviding system comprises means for recording the transmission state ofthe advertisement information, with advertising fees being calculatedbased on the recording results, and the advertiser is billed for theadvertising fees from the bank.

The exemplary advertisement information providing system may provide theadvertisement creating system with advertisement structure informationcontaining at least portions and times regarding which advertisementinsertion can be made, and the advertisement creating system may providethe advertisement information creating system with advertisementinformation created based on the advertisement structure information andspecified information from the advertiser.

Exemplary digital contents data may contain advertisement programs, withthe advertisement information being set into the digital contents by theadvertisement programs. Additionally, an exemplary digital contentsproviding system according to the present invention comprises aplurality of servers storing digital contents, wherein the digitalcontents providing system configures an advertisement informationproviding system having a database storing advertisement information tobe set into advertising areas within the digital contents, and anetwork, and wherein, in response to download requests for digitalcontents from the users, the digital contents distribution systemreceives corresponding advertisement information from the database, anddistributes the advertisement information along with the requesteddigital contents.

Advertising Impression Determination

An embodiment of the present invention may be configured to provide asystem and method for deploying and tracking advertisements across avideo game network. Embodiments of the present invention may also beconfigured to provide a method for determining an impression area in avideo game environment relative an advertisement in the environment.

An embodiment of the present invention may be configured to provide amethod for identifying an obstruction in the impression area andredefining the impression area based on the presence of the obstruction.An embodiment of the present invention may also be configured to providea method for verifying an advertising impression in a video gameenvironment when a video game character is present in an impression areawith an unobstructed view of a related advertisement.

An embodiment of the present invention may be configured to furtherprovide a method for determining the time a video game character ispresent in an impression area with an unobstructed view of anadvertisement. An embodiment of the present invention may also beconfigured to provide a system for determining when an advertisingimpression has been made in a video game environment.

An embodiment of the present invention may be configured to provide asystem for processing a payment based on the presence of a video gamecharacter in an impression area in a video game environment. Anembodiment of the present invention may also be configured to allowadvertisers to identify popular games and/or effective advertisements toallow for the establishment of proper pricing models, receive feedbackon their products, market to various segments and deploy customprogramming relating to advertising campaigns in an adaptable in-gameadvertising network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Apparatus and Method for Executing aGame Program Having Advertisements

FIGS. 1A and 1B are pictorial representations of an auto racing game inwhich two different advertisements are displayed;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are pictorial representations of another scene of theauto racing game in which two different advertisements are displayed;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of the data structure of a gameprogram stored in the game system of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the operation of the game system of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate the data structure of a gameprogram stored in the game system in accordance with another embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the operation of the game system having thedata structure shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of both the receiving and transmitting sidesof the game system of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the game system in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the game system in accordance with afurther embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams of the data structure of gamedata received by the game system shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing multiple game systems whichreceive game data from a single host computer in accordance with thepresent invention;

Enabling Optional Customer Election of Auxiliary Content

FIG. 12 illustrates an overall system configuration of a system forenabling display of primary media content, along with optional displayof locally stored auxiliary media content, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart which describes functions performed by theprimary content server during communication with a networked gameconsole;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart which describes functions performed by anetworked game console during communication with the primary contentserver;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of data contents contained on a detachable storagemedium inserted in the game console;

FIG. 16 is a process diagram describing the steps undertaken in the gameconsole during access with the primary content server;

FIG. 17 is a diagram describing an exemplary business model implementedaccording to the teachings of the present invention;

Providing Auxiliary Content Located on Local Storage DuringDownload/Access of Primary Content Over a Network

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of a computer network system thatimplements embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart that illustrates some download management serversteps taken in providing the desired auxiliary content during downloadof primary content, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart that illustrates some client-side steps taken inproviding the desired auxiliary content during download of primarycontent, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

In-Contents Advertising Method

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an overall system connected to anetwork;

FIG. 22 is a communication flow illustrating information exchangebetween parties;

FIGS. 23A and 3B are explanatory diagram illustrating an example of thedata configuration of advertising structure information, and a screenexample for advertisers;

FIG. 24 is a screen example for advertisers indicating the time slot fordisplaying advertisements, status, and monetary amount;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of auser client terminal;

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration ofcontents downloaded to the user client terminal;

FIG. 27 is a flowchart illustrating advertising operations in the eventthat a game is activated at the user client terminal;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an advertisingprogram which operates on the client terminal where the game has beenactivated;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating the advertisement output operationsin the event that game data is being downloaded to the user clientterminal;

Advertising Impression Determination

FIG. 30 illustrates line-of-sight obstacles as may be found in a videogame environment, in one embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 31 illustrates a positional relationship between a game characterand an advertisement, in one embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 32 illustrates a second positional relationship between a gamecharacter and an advertisement, in one embodiment in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIGS. 33A and 33B illustrate two positional relationships between a gamecharacter and an advertisement relative obstacles in an impression area,in one embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 34 illustrates an exemplary line-of-sight determination methodologyto be used in determining the occurrence of an advertising impression,in one embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 35A-35B illustrates the correlation between an impression counterand a positional relationship of a game character and an advertisement,in one embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 36 illustrates an alternative correlation between an impressioncounter and a positional relationship of a game character and anadvertisement, in one embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Apparatus and Method for Executing a Game ProgramHaving Advertisements

FIGS. 1A and 1B are pictorial representations of an auto racing game inwhich a commercial advertisement ‘A’ is displayed on a billboard in FIG.1A and a different commercial advertisement ‘B’ is displayed on thebillboard as shown in FIG. 1B. Similarly, FIGS. 2A and 2B are pictorialrepresentations of another ‘scene’ of the auto racing program in whichcommercial advertisements ‘C’ and ‘D,’ respectively, are displayed onthe clothing of the racing car driver. As seen from both set of FIGS. 1Aand 1B and FIGS. 2A and 2B, advertisements ‘A’ and ‘B’ are displayed inthe same scene of the auto racing program (of course, at differenttimes) and advertisements ‘C’ and ‘D’ also are displayed in the samescene of the auto racing program.

Referring next to FIGS. 3A and 3B of the drawings, the data structure ofa game program at two different times of execution (to be discussed) inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Asshown in FIG. 3A, the game program is comprised of a main program M,which generally represents the entire game program except foradvertisement data, and advertisement data A and C, which are stored inmemory areas A0 and C0, respectively. Advertisement data A and Crepresent the commercial advertisements ‘A’ and ‘C’ shown in FIGS. 1Aand 2A, respectively. Thus, when a game program having the datastructure shown in FIG. 3A is executed, commercial advertisement A isdisplayed in one scene of the auto racing program and advertisement C isdisplayed in another scene.

FIG. 3B illustrates the data structure of the same game program shown inFIG. 3A, except advertisement data B and D are stored in memory areas A0and C0, respectively, instead of advertisement data A and C. Thus, whenthe auto racing program having the data structure shown in FIG. 3B isexecuted, commercial advertisement B is displayed (see FIG. 1B) in thesame scene advertisement A was displayed and commercial advertisement Dis displayed (FIG. 2B) in the same scene advertisement C was displayed.If advertisement data A and C in a game program therefore are replacedby advertisement data B and D, respectively, after the purchase thereof,such a game program would be more valuable to the advertisers. It isappreciated that the main program M and the advertisement data stored inmemory areas A0 and C0 may be stored in a single memory or in separatememories.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow chart of the operation of a game systemin accordance with the present invention is shown. When a home gamesystem is turned on, a game program (e.g., having the data structureshown in FIG. 3A) is executed at step 410 and a sequence of operationsis performed in accordance with the program code of main program M. Atan appropriate time during the execution of main program M, theadvertisement data stored in area A0, for example, advertisement data A,is read therefrom and displayed, such as shown in FIG. 1A, at step 420.If, however, advertisement data B is stored in memory area A0,commercial advertisement B (shown in FIG. 1B) is displayed at step 420.The game program continues at step 430 and, an appropriate time asdesignated by the game program, the advertisement data stored in memoryarea C0 is read therefrom and displayed at step 440, such as shown inFIG. 2A. Upon completion of step 440, the game program continues itsoperation at step 450 until the completion of the program.

FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate the data structure of a gameprogram in accordance with another embodiment of the present inventionin which main program M and all of the advertisement data A, B, C and Dstored therein remains unchanged (i.e., ‘fixed’ data). However, anadvertisement selection code S is variable, wherein FIG. 5 a illustratesthe data structure of a game program having the advertisement selectioncode S_(AC) which indicates that advertisement data A and C areselected, and FIG. 5B illustrates the data structure of a game programhaving the advertisement selection code S_(BD) which indicates thatadvertisement data B and D are selected. Thus, the main program M andall of the advertisement data A, B, C and D are fixed data and only theadvertisement selection code S is ‘variable’ data.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a game system whichexecutes a game program having a data structure shown in either FIG. 5Aor 5B. When a user selects a particular game to be executed, the gamesystem downloads at step 600 from an on-line game system serviceprovider (to be discussed) the fixed data of that particular game, whichconsists of main program M and advertisement data A, B, C and D shown inFIG. 5A. The main program M and the advertisement data are stored in thegame system's memory, typically non-volatile memory. If this fixed dataalready is stored in the game system's memory, step 600 is not executed.Selection code S is downloaded at step 605, whether or not step 600 isexecuted, and such selection code S identifies which advertisements areto be displayed during the execution of the game program. Upondownloading of selection code S, main program M is executed at step 610in a manner similar to step 410 of FIG. 4 and at an appropriate timeduring the execution of the game program, selection code S is read fromthe game system's memory at step 620, and the first advertisement to bedisplayed is identified at step 630. If selection code S identifiescommercial ‘A’ as the first advertisement to be displayed (i.e.,S=S_(ax)), advertisement data A is read from memory and displayed atstep 640. On the other hand, if advertisement B is identified as thefirst advertisement to be displayed (i.e., S=S_(bx)), advertisement dataB is read from memory and displayed at step 650. The game program thencontinues at step 660 and at an appropriate time therein, selection codeS is read from memory at step 670 so that the next commercialadvertisement to be displayed can be identified at step 680. Ifadvertisement C is identified by selection code S (i.e., S=S_(xc)), thenadvertisement data C is read from memory and subsequently displayed atstep 690, but if advertisement D is identified by selection code S(i.e., S=S_(xd)), advertisement data D is read from memory and displayedat instruction step 692. The game program then continues at step 694until completion. As shown in FIG. 6, ‘x’ in steps 630 and 680represents a ‘do not care’ condition since step 630 is identifying onlythe first commercial advertisement that is to be displayed and step 680is identifying only the second commercial advertisement that is to bedisplayed. Furthermore, FIG. 6 is only an exemplary flow chart of thegame system of the present invention, and it is appreciated that theremay be more than two commercial advertisements identified by selectioncode S.

Referring back to FIG. 4, prior to the execution of the game program atstep 410, the advertisement data stored in memory areas A0 and C0 aredownloaded from an on-line game system provider in a manner similar tothat performed previously described with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B and6. Namely, each time a user wishes to execute a particular game program,the game system downloads advertisement data from an external source andstores the advertisement data in memory areas A0 and C0. Similarly, whena user selects a game program in the game system which operates in themanner shown in FIG. 6, a selection code S, which identifies whichadvertisements stored in memory are to be displayed during the executionof the game program, is downloaded. However, if the desired game programis not stored in the game system's memory (e.g., on a hard disk, floppydisk, CD ROM, magneto-optical disk, etc.) both of the above-discussedembodiments of the present invention also download the fixed data of thegame program. It is seen, therefore, that prior to the execution of agame program on a game system of the present invention, either theparticular advertisement data representing the image data of theadvertisements that are displayed during the execution of the programare downloaded or the advertisement selection code S is downloaded tothe game system. In either case, commercial advertisements are kept‘current,’ and since the amount of advertisement data is relativelysmall compared to the size of the game program itself, the amount of‘download’ time is small in the first discussed embodiment. Of course,the download time of advertisement selection code S in the seconddiscussed embodiment is insubstantial.

In accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention, updatedor ‘new’ advertisement data is downloaded or a new advertisementselection code is downloaded each time a game program is executed.However, such data need not be downloaded every time the game program isexecuted, and instead, may be downloaded only on a new day or a new week(or month) on which the game program is executed. Since commercialadvertisements generally do not change multiple times within the sameday, downloading such commercial advertisements more than once per daymay be unnecessary. In an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention, commercial advertisement data or advertisement selection codeS is downloaded each time the game system is turned on.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram of both the game system (i.e.,the receiving side) and a transmission system (i.e., the transmittingside) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention isshown. The transmission system may be an on-line game system serviceprovider, the game manufacturer itself, a telecommunication companywhich sells commercial advertisements, or any other suitable system inwhich the present invention may be applied. The transmission systemgenerally is comprised of a system controller 700, memories 710 and 720(e.g., hard-disk drives), a switching circuit 730, an encoder 735, and atransmitter 740. The transmission system supplies the main program M ofa game and advertisement data to a game system of the present inventionwhich generally is located in the home via a transmission line 745, forexample, an ISDN (integrated services digital network), an ordinarytelephone line, or any other suitable transmission line. The game systemof the present invention generally is comprised of a receiver 750, adecoder 755 and a game machine 760, which includes therein a memory 765,for example, a magneto-optical disk drive or other suitable non-volatileread/write memory.

System controller 700 of the transmitting side shown in FIG. 7 controlsmemory 710, which stores therein the main program M of a game program,memory 720, which stores therein advertisement data, and switch 730,which switches between the outputs of memories 710 and 720. Theadvertisement data stored in memory 720 may be changed if it is desiredto display a different advertisement when the game program is executed.When main program M is to be downloaded to the game system, in responseto a suitable request from the game system, system controller 700controls memory 710 and switch 730 so that main program M stored inmemory 710 is supplied to encoder 735 which encodes the supplied data asis known in the art so that the data is suitable for transmission andsupplies the encoded data to transmitter 740 which transmits the encodeddata via transmission line 745 to the game system of the presentinvention. Receiver 750 of the receiving side receives the transmittedsignal, decoder 755 decodes the transmitted signal, and game machine 760stores in memory 765 the decoded signal (i.e., main program M). Systemcontroller 700 then controls memory 720 and switch 730 to read out andsupply the advertisement data stored in memory 710 so that it may betransmitted to the game system. The advertisement data is received,decoded and stored in memory 765.

When main program M already is stored in memory 765, then onlyadvertisement data stored in memory 720 is transmitted to the gamesystem. As previously mentioned, main program M is stored in memory 710and advertisement data is stored in memory 720. However, in thepreviously discussed embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5Band 6, main program M as well as advertisement data A, B, C and D arestored in memory 710 and only advertisement selection code S is storedin memory 720. Therefore, only advertisement selection code S istransmitted to the game system when main program M and the advertisementdata (i.e., the fixed data) already are stored therein. Memories 710 and720 may represent different memories of the transmission system orsimply different memory locations in the same memory device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a game system in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a game programstored on a permanent storage medium, for example, an optical disk, ispurchased by a user. The optical disk is inserted in a magneto-opticaldisk drive 840 (or other suitable reproducing device) which reproducesthe game program stored thereon. As shown, the game system is comprisedof a transceiver/interface 855, a memory 850, a system controller 870, akeyboard interface 815, a decoder 825, a picture controller 830 andmemory 840 which is comprised of the magneto-optical disk drive havingthe optical disk loaded therein. Identification data stored on theoptical disk and which identifies the game program stored thereon isreproduced therefrom and transmitted via transceiver 855 to an on-linegame service provider, such as disclosed in FIG. 7. In response to thetransmission of the identification data, the service provider transfersto the game system shown in FIG. 8 updated ‘variable’ data, which eitheris the advertisement data (i.e., advertisement data A, B, C or D, or anycombination thereof) or advertisement selection code S, as previouslydiscussed. The updated variable data is received by transceiver 855 andstored in memory 850. The variable data stored in memory 850 then isstored on the optical disk of memory 840. Alternatively, the variabledata is not permanently stored. In either case, the game program storedon the optical disk is not executed until updated commercialadvertisement data is supplied from the service provider.

Upon receiving updated commercial advertisement data, the game programis executed and at an appropriate time, the stored data is decoded indecoder 825 and supplied to picture controller 830 which converts thedecoded data to a video signal and which supplies the video signal fordisplay on a video monitor (not shown). Furthermore, user commands areentered on a keyboard (not shown) which is coupled to keyboard interface815 which decodes the supplied commands and which supplies the decodedcommands to system controller 870. System controller 870 controls theoperations of the various devices of the game system of the presentinvention in a manner known in the art. Thus, the game system of FIG. 8is similar to the game system shown in FIG. 7 except main program M(along with advertisement data A, B, C, D in the second discussedembodiment) is not downloaded but is stored on a magneto-optical diskthat is purchased by a consumer.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a further embodiment of the presentinvention in which the ‘variable’ data (i.e., the advertisement data orthe advertisement selection code) is supplied to the game system via asatellite transmission. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the variable datais repeatedly transmitted over a satellite transmission such that thesystem of FIG. 9 only ‘waits’ for a relatively short period of timebefore receiving the variable data that corresponds to the particulargame program that has been selected to be executed. When a user insertsin CD ROM drive 960 a CD ROM (or magneto-optical disk) having a gameprogram stored thereon and executes via keyboard interface 950 the gameprogram, a game identification code stored on the CD ROM is reproducedtherefrom and supplied to random access memory (RAM) 905 in a mannersimilar to that previously described with reference to FIG. 8. Systemcontroller 940 then ascertains the transmission channel on which thevariable data corresponding to the selected game program is transmittedand controls receiver 970 to receive satellite transmissions on theascertained channel.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate the data structure of data transmitted overtwo different channels of a satellite transmission. As shown, FIG. 10Ashows the data transmitted on a channel G and FIG. 10B shows the datatransmitted on a channel H. Channel G includes thereon datacorresponding to two game programs J and K, and channel H includesthereon data corresponding to three game programs P, Q and R. If theexecuted game program corresponds to, for example, game J on channel G,a receiver is controlled to receive data transmitted on channel G, andupon receipt of software identification data J on channel G, advertisingdata J-1 and J-2 transmitted thereafter are stored in memory as, forexample, commercial advertisements A and C, respectively. Theadvertisement data further may be stored in a non-volatile memory (e.g.,a hard disk or M-O disk) so that the advertisement data does not need tobe downloaded again in the event of a power failure. Furthermore, thegame system may be designed to require that updated advertisement databe downloaded each time the game is executed, or each new day (or week,etc.) on which the game is executed, or each time the system is turnedon, or at any other desired interval of time. The game program then isexecuted in a manner similar to that previously described with referenceto FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of game systems 1120,1130, 1140 . . . each interacting with a host computer 1110 (i.e., thegame service provider) via plural transmission lines. It is seen thatsince main program M of a game program is only downloaded to each gamesystem at most one time and since advertisement data or advertisementselection codes have a relatively small amount of data, the transmissionthereof is relatively short so that a transmission system generally willbe operable to service a relatively large number of home game systems.

In each of the above discussed embodiments, commercial advertisementsare updated on a regular basis such that profits made from suchadvertisements can be expected to substantially increase. Furthermore,since the amount of advertisement data that is downloaded to a gamesystem is relatively small compared to the amount of data in a gameprogram, download times are relatively short. Still further, the gamesystem shown in FIG. 9 operates to download updated advertisement datain a manner that is transparent to a user of such game system.

While embodiments of the present invention has been particularly shownand described in conjunction with the embodiments thereof, it will bereadily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that variouschanges may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, although the present invention has beendescribed as displaying two commercial advertisements from a selectionof four advertisements, the present invention is not limited to thisnumber of advertisements and may be applied to game programs thatdisplay a relatively large number of advertisements during the executionof a particular game.

As another example, although the present discussion is directed to homegame systems, the present invention is not limited solely to the homeand may be widely applied to game systems located in other locales,including game arcades and companies.

Enabling Optional Customer Election of Auxiliary Content

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of a system for enabling display ofprimary media content, along with optional display of auxiliary mediacontent, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The term‘primary media content’ in the context of the specification and claimsshall be understood to refer to a collection of downloadable contentswhich may consist of any one of video linear streaming data, such as amotion picture in the MPEG2 format, linear audio streaming data such asMP3 data, binary program data or any combination of such data. On theother hand, excluded from the definition of ‘primary media content’ areservices which are used solely to provide access to a network, forexample browser software or protocol handlers whose main function isonly to establish a network connection.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system configuration is made up of a server sidesystem comprising a download service management server 1210, a customerdatabase 1220 and a contents database 1230, which are interconnected bya local area network (LAN) 1240. The ‘primary media content’ asdescribed in the preceding paragraph is stored in a contents database1230 which makes up part of the server side system. The customerdatabase 1220 stores a collection of data about individual customers whoaccess the download service through a bi-directional network 1250. Thedata for individual customers may consist of the customer's name, homeaddress, age, gender, occupation, income, hobbies and interests,information about family members, purchasing history, preference ofgender in contents viewed, or any other descriptive information about auser which may be beneficial to advertisers in targeting auxiliary mediato customers.

Further, such customer data is not static, but is updateable based on auser's access history of the primary contents data, for example dataconcerning which primary contents are accessed and/or how many times agiven category (e.g. type of music, genre of movies, etc.) of primarycontents are accessed may be recorded and used for updating the customerdata, thereby enabling advertisers to tailor their advertisements moreeffectively to a given customer.

The download service management server 1210 is a server system which isset up to handle download requests from a user. Access to the server1210, which may comprise one of several servers, is facilitated througha typical device known as a router (not shown) on the LAN 1240, whichdirects requests to the download management server 1210. When the server1210 receives requests from a user, the server executes a download ofrequested primary media content from the contents database 1230. Alongwith processing requests for downloading of primary media content, theserver 1210 also retrieves the requesting user's customer data from thecustomer database 1220 and attaches it with the requested primarycontents, which are then transmitted via the network by means of a knownnetworking protocol standard, such as FTP (file transfer protocol).

The network 1250 is normally a bi-directional digital communicationsnetwork that connects the user's terminal hardware with the downloadservice management server 10 provided on the server side of the system.With current technologies, a CATV bi-directional network, ISDN or xDSLhigh speed networks are examples of existing infrastructures enablingthe necessary network connections for implementing the presentinvention.

The client side of the system configuration comprises a modem or networkadapter 1260, a networked game console 1270 which utilizes a detachablestorage medium 1280 therein, and a TV monitor or any other suitabledisplay means 1290 connected to the game console 1270.

The console 1270 comprises a system having a CPU, such as a personalcomputer for home use, a video game machine (TV game machine) as a videoentertainment system, a set-top box, or a personal digital assistantsuch as a cellular phone.

If the game console 1270 is a portable digital assistant 1270 a such asa cellular phone having a liquid crystal display 1271 and a datatransmission function via the network 1250, it is preferable to use asemiconductor memory card 1280 a as the storage media 1280 since thesemiconductor memory card 1280 a is compact in comparison with a CD-ROMor a DVD.

Alternatively, the personal digital assistant 1270 a can be connected toa CD-ROM drive or a DVD drive to function as the game console 1270.Within the knowledge of those skilled in the art, any suitable compactmass storage package media can be used as the storage media 1280.

More specifically, the modem/network adapter 1260 is a typical deviceused to connect the client's terminal hardware, in this case the gameconsole 1270, for hook-up to the network 1250. For example, for a CATVnetwork, a known cable modem device may be used, whereas for an ISDNnetwork, a device known as a terminal adapter is used.

The detachable storage media 1280 stores a collection of interactive ornon-interactive auxiliary content, for example advertisements which maybe made up of video images, animations, sounds, applets, etc. In thepreferred embodiment, the detachable storage media 1280 comprises aCD-ROM or DVD disc. Each item of auxiliary content includes appended‘trigger data’ which is appended as an access flag to the auxiliarycontent, as shall be discussed in further detail below.

The networked game console 1270 is a network connectable player ofinteractive digital contents. Such a game console 1270, according toconventional methods, normally utilizes the detachable storage media1280 as a contents distribution media in a non-networked environment.Stated otherwise, under ordinary use according to conventional knownmethods, the game console 1270 is capable of playing back mediacontained on the detachable storage media 1280, which normally is aninteractive video game for example, even if the game console 1270 is notis connected to the network. By contrast, according to the presentinvention, the storage media 1280 is specifically intended to be used ina networked environment and to operate in consort with downloadedprimary content retrieved through a network connection, in order toprovide linked or associated user-customized auxiliary content.

The network game console 1270 executes therein network access softwarewhich is to be loaded from the storage media 1280 or other internalstorage medium (not shown), or which may be downloaded from the network,into an internal operating RAM (also not shown), for performing thefollowing operations: (1) communicating with the download servicemanagement server 1210; (2) sending media or user identification data tothe server in order to retrieve downloadable primary content from thecontents database 1230 together with user information from the customerdatabase 1220; (3) accessing auxiliary content stored in the storagemedia 1280 on the basis of user information downloaded from the server;(4) enabling the user to selectively override the playback of auxiliarycontent for viewing solely the primary content downloaded from theserver; (5) recording a history of the auxiliary content items loadedand played back from the storage media 1280 at the election of the user;and (6) sending or uploading the record of viewed auxiliary contentitems to the download service management server 1210.

Under operation, the console 1270 receives downloaded primary contenttogether with attached user information, wherein the downloaded primarycontent may be stored locally on an internal storage media such as ahard disk drive HDD (not shown) or an externally attached re-writablestorage medium (not shown) which attaches to the game console 1270through a port connection. The access software first checks, inaccordance with feature 4 above, whether or not the user has elected todisable viewing of auxiliary content or not. If the user has notdisabled viewing of auxiliary content, the console then accesses andloads one or more interactive or non-interactive contents which matchthe downloaded user information and/or the downloaded primary content.More specifically, a comparison is made between the user information and‘trigger data’ contained as a header with each piece of auxiliarycontent, and if data contained in the trigger data match with the userinformation, the auxiliary content item is then loaded and queued forplayback in the console 1270.

That is, the trigger data consists of information corresponding to theabove described user information (the customer's name, home address,age, gender, occupation, income, hobbies and interests, informationabout family members, purchasing history, preference of gender incontents viewed, or the like).

In addition, a given request for specified primary content may alsospawn the loading and queuing of auxiliary content. A record of theauxiliary content items actually loaded and played on the console 1270,along with the times and duration during which auxiliary content wasplayed, or any other information obtained during playback of theauxiliary content, may be stored in a data storage area of the console1270, and is uploaded to the server at any suitable time, such as aftera given piece of primary content has been played, after a given piece ofauxiliary content has been viewed or partially viewed, or during asign-off process from the network connection.

The viewed contents record, particularly the times and duration forwhich a given piece of auxiliary content was viewed, are used as a basisfor assessing fees to advertisers who have provided the auxiliarycontent.

Further the viewed contents record also enables customer informationstored in the customer database 1220 to be updated to include newinformation gained during viewing or interaction between the customerand the auxiliary content.

For example, in the case of an interactive piece of auxiliary content,various questions may be asked of the user, or other user behaviormonitored, which can then form part of the viewed contents record and beused for updating information on the customer in the customer database1220. In the case of non-interactive content, information of whichadvertisements have been viewed can be used to update customerinformation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart which describes sequential functions performed bythe primary content server during communication with a networked gameconsole. In addition, FIG. 14 shows a flowchart which describesfunctions performed by the networked game console during communicationwith the primary content server. Because the functions shown in FIGS. 13and 14 occur in a mutually exchanged fashion, these functions shall bedescribed together.

In step 1300 on the server side, the download service manager 1210receives a request to establish a communication link from the networkgame console 1270. Similarly, in a step 1400 on the client or networkedgame console side, a request is sent to establish communication with thedownload service management server 1210. As a result of thesecoordinated actions, a network socket connection according to knownstandards (e.g., IP/TCP) for bi-directional transmission of data packetsis established between the management server 1210 and the networked gameconsole 1270.

In step 1410, after the communication link has been established, aunique media ID indicating the media 1280 installed in the game console1270 is sent to the download service management server 1210. In theevent of a first time user, the media ID is associated with the user andis thereafter used as a user identifier. In step 1310 on the serverside, the management server 1210 receives the media ID.

After receiving the unique media ID, in step 1320 on the server side,the management server 1210 retrieves, via LAN 1240, user informationfrom the customer database 1220. In the event that user informationassociated with the media ID (in the case of a new user) does not existin the customer database 1220, the user may be prompted to supply basicinformation for establishing initial user information for the customerdatabase 1220. This process shall be described in greater detail in FIG.16.

At this point, in step 1420 on the game console side, a request is sentto the download management server 1210 to retrieve downloadable primarycontent from the contents database 1230. When the server receives theuser's request for downloadable content in step 1330, the downloadmanagement server 1210, via LAN 1240, finds and extracts the requestedcontent from the contents database 1230 in step 1340.

At this point, in step 1350, the user information retrieved in step 1320is attached to the requested primary content extracted in step 1340, andthe user information together with the requested primary content aretransmitted to the networked game console 1270 in step 1360.

On the client side, in step 1430 the game console 1270 receives therequested primary content along with the attached user information. Inaccordance with the user information, in step 1440 the game console 1270searches for and finds one or more auxiliary content items 1550 (seeFIG. 15) stored on the detachable storage media 1280 which correspondwith the user information. More specifically, a comparison is madebetween various data contained in the user information, which may alsoinclude information of the currently requested primary content, andtrigger data 1560 appended with each of the auxiliary contents 1550, andfor those items for which a match is found, the auxiliary contents 1550are extracted. As shall be explained in more detail in relation to FIG.16, the user is given the option of overriding playback of the auxiliarycontent, however, assuming playback is authorized, the auxiliary contentitems 1550 are loaded and executed for playback along with the primarycontent.

In step 1450, a record of all the auxiliary content items which haveactually been viewed by the customer is stored in an internal memory(not shown) of the game console 1270. Such a record may comprise anidentifier of the auxiliary content items which were viewed, and theduration for which an auxiliary content item was viewed if it was notplayed in its entirety.

In step 1460, the game console 1270 sends the record established in step1450 to the download management server 1210, which in turn receives theplayback record in step 1370.

The transmission of this record may be made in any of various ways, forexample as a comprehensive record at the end of user activity which isuploaded to the server during a sign-off procedure, or intermittently aseach auxiliary content item is viewed. As discussed above, the playbackrecord, which is stored in the customer database 1220 in step 1380,provides valuable feedback information to auxiliary content providers,such as advertisers, as to whether the auxiliary content was effectivefor a given target audience, and may also be used as a basis forassessing fees to the auxiliary content providers.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of data contents 1500 contained on a detachablestorage media 1280 inserted in the game console 1270.

As shown schematically therein, the storage media 1280 stores datacomprising auxiliary content (AUX. CONTENT) 1510 to be viewed by theuser of the game console, wherein the auxiliary content 1510 is made upof a plurality of content items 1550 (Content 1, Content 2 . . . ContentN) each with an appended set of trigger data 1560. The storage media1280 further holds a unique MEDIA ID section 1520, which serves foridentifying the detachable storage media itself (such as an alphanumericCD-ROM/DVD serial number) and which also establishes a user identifierfor the user who utilizes the storage media 1280 in the game console1270, and an authentication code (AUTH. CODE) 1530 which is used forauthenticating access to the download service manager 1210.

It is conceivable that the MEDIA ID and the authentication code could bethe same, although preferably the functions of server access andmedia/customer identification are facilitated by separate codes.Alternatively, the MEDIA ID section 1520 may comprise a software programwhich generates a unique user identifier in association with a promptfor user input of initial user data, such as the name, address, etc. ofthe user. It shall be understood that once the MEDIA ID 1520 becomesassociated with user information, the MEDIA ID 1520 serves as a useridentifier, so these terms may be used interchangeably hereinafter.

The USER ID 1520 and AUTH. CODE 1530 also serve jointly as an enablingkey through which access to given primary content is authorized by thecontent server 1210. More specifically, when the MEDIA ID 1520 isuploaded to the server 1210, on the basis of the MEDIA ID 1520, theserver 1210 can determine which primary contents, from among multiplecontents in the content database 1230, are authorized for access to theuser on the basis of the user identifier.

Should such a media identifier not be present, or be deemed to beincorrect or outdated, access to the content server 1210 is suspended.Thus, the correct storage media 1280 must be present in the gameconsole, and a correct and non-outdated media identifier must bedetermined, in order for access to the server 1210 to be authorized.Another possibility is that the authorization code 1530 provides accessto a given server dedicated for downloading of specified primary contentfrom among multiple contents in the contents database 1230.

The storage media 1280 additionally contains a NET ACCESS indicator 1540so that the storage media 1280 can be used for interaction with a serverin a networked environment. The NET ACCESS indicator 1540 may itselfcomprise network access software which enables the necessary networkconnection, or may simply comprise a flag indicating that networksoftware residing in the game console 1270 should be loaded andexecuted. In the latter case, the network software residing in the gameconsole 1270 may comprise a small program for establishing a minimalnetwork connection to enable more versatile network software to bedownloaded from the server and executed in the game console 1270.

FIG. 16 is a process diagram describing steps undertaken in thenetworked game console 1270 prior to and during a network connectionwith the primary content server 1210.

In step 1600 when the game console is turned on, a standard bootsequence is initiated through an internal BIOS for enabling essentialcommunications between peripheral devices and the like, whereby thesystem is initialized for operation by the user.

When a detachable media 1280 such as a CD-ROM or DVD disc is inserted inthe game console 1270, in step 1605 the system scans the media 1280 todetermine whether the data content thereon is intended for operation ina networked environment. This is done by checking whether a NET ACCESSindicator 1540, as described above, is present on the media 1280 or not.

Next, in step 1610, if it is determined that the detachable media 1280does not contain a NET ACCESS indicator 1540 (i.e., that the media is aprogram intended for operation with the game console alone and notrequiring a network connection), then in step 1615 the game console isoperated in a normal non-networked mode. However, if the NET ACCESSindicator 1540 is present, then a bi-directional network connection isestablished in step 1620 as was discussed above in relation to FIG. 13and FIG. 14. In this case, the authorization code 1530 on the detachablemedia 1280 is used to enable the network connection.

In step 1625, it is determined in cooperation with the content server1210 whether or not the customer is a first time user or not. Morespecifically, upon receipt of the MEDIA ID 1520, the content server 1210can determine whether this is the first time that the MEDIA ID 1520 hasbeen used to access the system 1210, and if so, will issue a command tothe game console 1270 to prompt the user for initial user data as shownin step 1630. At this time, the server 1210 may also establish and storea time/date log file for association with the MEDIA ID 1520 whichpermits access to the server 1210 with use of the detachable media 1280for a limited time period only.

In step 1640, the primary content requested by the customer isdownloaded into the networked game console 1270 from the content server1210. As was described in relation to FIGS. 13 and 14, the desiredprimary content has attached thereto the user information which isassociated with the user ID from the customer database 1220. As fordetermining which primary content is authorized and hence downloadableto a given user, prior to step 1640, the user may be presented with amenu option which displays only those primary content items, from amongall items contained in the content database 1230, that are authorized tothe user for downloading and viewing, thereby facilitating selection bythe user. While menu options may be provided as a function of a menuroutine executed from the detachable storage media 1280, on the serverside the download management server 1210 is capable of controlling whichprimary content is downloadable based on the MEDIA ID 1520. In otherwords, the user cannot request primary content items which are notauthorized for the MEDIA ID 1520.

The routine proceeds next to step 1645 for comparing the downloadedcustomer information with the trigger data 1560 for each of theauxiliary content items, to determine which auxiliary content itemsshall be loaded and queued for playback.

In step 1650, the system checks to see whether the user has elected topermit playback of auxiliary content contained on the detachable storagemedia 1280. The ability to optionally choose or disable playback ofauxiliary content can be provided by means of a control button on thegame console, and such ability is generally made constantly available tothe user at any time before or during playback of the requested primarycontent.

If playback of auxiliary content is disabled, in step 1655 the primarycontent only is executed by the game console 1270 for viewing by theuser. However, assuming the customer permits playback of auxiliarycontent, the routine proceeds to step 1660 wherein the applicableauxiliary content items 1550 determined in step 1645 are loaded andqueued for playback.

Upon loading of an auxiliary content item, in step 1665 the game console1270 makes a record in an internal storage area (not shown) that a givenauxiliary content item has been readied for viewing by the customer, andupon execution of the auxiliary content, an on-board timer (also notshown) may be initiated to keep track of the time during which theauxiliary content items are played back. By means of a control loop backto step 1650, the system continuously polls whether the user has enabledor disabled the auxiliary content. Assuming the user does not disablethe auxiliary content during playback, it may be assumed that theauxiliary content item was viewed or interacted with in its entirety.However, should the user disable the auxiliary content during playbackof a given auxiliary content item, the time at which the disablementoccurred and the auxiliary content item being played back at that timeare recorded. The playback record is also important in the event theuser disables and then re-enables the auxiliary content, in which casethe record provides an indication of which auxiliary content item wasbeing viewed at the time of disablement, and thus allows the auxiliarycontent to be reinitiated at the content item where it last left off, inwhich case the playback record is updated.

Then roughly simultaneously with step 1649, the auxiliary content isexecuted for playback along with the requested primary content in step1670. It shall be understood that various modes for execution ofauxiliary and primary content can be contemplated within the knowledgeof persons skilled in the art. For example, the auxiliary content can beplayed back before the running of the primary content, so that the useris not permitted to view the primary content until after the auxiliarycontent has been viewed, or otherwise run its course, for example byinteraction with the user in the case of interactive content.Alternatively, the auxiliary content can be presented alongside with theprimary content, for example in a window, inset, banner or frame, whilethe primary content is also being executed. Interaction between primaryand auxiliary content is also possible. For example, in the case wherethe primary content is an interactive game, the appearance of acharacter, scene or other data item in the primary content can be usedto trigger actions in the auxiliary content.

FIG. 17 is a diagram describing an exemplary business model implementedaccording to the teachings of the present invention. The basic businessmodel supposes two conditions. First, that the downloadable primarycontent 1710 from the contents database 1230 comprises a popularinteractive game, movie, music or any other digital content worth payingfor. Secondly, the content items stored on the detachable storage media1280 are typically advertisements from various auxiliary contentproviders 1700 who are typically commercial companies or the like. Inthis case, if the user 1720 elects to view the auxiliary contentprovided on the detachable storage media 1280 along with the primarycontent 1710, the fee 1730 a for the downloadable primary content 1710can be paid to the download service operator by the auxiliary contentprovider 1700.

Alternatively (as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 17), if the user1720 decides to skip the auxiliary content, as described in step 1650 ofFIG. 16, a fee 1703 b to the download service operator for the primarycontent 1710 will be charged to the user. Thus, the user 1720 does nothave to pay a fee to the download service operator as long as the user1720 views the customized auxiliary content (triggered by the user'spersonal information) contained on the storage media 1280.

Based on the playback record which is created in step 1665 of FIG. 16and uploaded to the download service provider, the download serviceoperator can collect fees both from the user 1720 and/or auxiliarycontent providers 1700 based on the amount of secondary content viewedby the user 1720.

It is significant not only that the auxiliary content is providedthrough a detachable storage media 1280 but also that the system enablesa pairing or linkage between the auxiliary content on the storage media1280 and specified downloadable primary content 1710, and wherein, bymeans of key data on the storage media 1280, the storage media 80provides the avenue of access to the primary content 1710.

In this manner, auxiliary content providers, typically advertisers, areable to direct the detachable media 1280 to customers whose motivationwill be to access valuable and popular primary media content, whereasthe primary content provider, through the key, can additionally controlaccess to primary content based on a specified time period during whichthe storage media 1280 can be used.

Further, in addition to being motivated to use the detachable media 1280to access popular primary media content, customers may feel lessreluctant to offer personal identifying information if the impression isthat the information is being collected by, and maintained under thecontrol of, a well known primary content provider, as opposed to lesserknown advertisers.

The system can also enable a two-tiered method of advertising, whereinthe download server operator can require forced viewing ofadvertisements sent directly along with the primary content, whereasadvertisements from auxiliary content providers 1280 are provided on anoptional basis to the user 1720, thereby increasing the versatility ofthe system as an advertising method.

It shall be understood that various modifications will be apparent andcan be readily made by persons skilled in the art without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, thefollowing claims shall not be limited by the descriptions orillustrations set forth herein, but shall be construed to cover withreasonable breadth all features which may be envisaged as equivalents bythose skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the present invention, a storage mediasuch as a CD-ROM containing auxiliary content such as advertisements isinstalled in a console for accessing a server via a network. When theuser views the advertisement, it is made possible for the user to viewprimary content such as a movie or music downloaded from the server viathe network.

In this case, the user has an option as to whether or not to view theauxiliary content. If the user decided to view the auxiliary content,accessing of the primary content at a reduced cost or for free is madepossible. If the user decided not to view the auxiliary content, a fullfee is assessed for accessing of the primary content.

Providing Auxiliary Content Located on Local Storage DuringDownload/Access of Primary Content Over a Network

A system and method for providing auxiliary content located on localstorage to a client connected to a content provider over abi-directional network is described. In the following description, forpurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be evident, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form to facilitate explanation. The description of preferredembodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appendedhereto.

Aspects of the present invention may be implemented on one or morecomputers executing software instructions. According to one embodimentof the present invention, server and client computer systems transmitand receive data over a computer network or standard telephone line. Thesteps of accessing, downloading, and manipulating the data, as well asother aspects of the present invention are implemented by centralprocessing units (CPU) in the server and client computers executingsequences of instructions stored in a memory. The memory may be a randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a persistent store, such asa mass storage device, or any combination of these devices. Execution ofthe sequences of instructions causes the CPU to perform steps accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

The instructions may be loaded into the memory of the server or clientcomputers from a storage device or from one or more other computersystems over a network connection. For example, a client computer maytransmit a sequence of instructions to the server computer in responseto a message transmitted to the client over a network by the server. Asthe server receives the instructions over the network connection, itstores the instructions in memory. The server may store the instructionsfor later execution, or it may execute the instructions as they arriveover the network connection. In some cases, the downloaded instructionsmay be directly supported by the CPU. In other cases, the instructionsmay not be directly executable by the CPU, and may instead be executedby an interpreter that interprets the instructions. In otherembodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of, or incombination with, software instructions to implement the presentinvention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software, nor to any particularsource for the instructions executed by the server or client computers.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a computer network system that can be usedto locate and transmit requested content from a primary content databasewhile providing designated auxiliary content stored in local storagemedia, according to embodiments of the present invention. The downloadmanagement system 1800 of FIG. 18 enables the auxiliary content to bevaried based on preferences of system participants during download ofprimary content over the download management server 1810. Control overthe auxiliary content, primary content and/or the download managementserver 1810 is exercised by a distributor. The auxiliary contentprovided can be varied based on one or more user preferences, one ormore distributor preferences, or a combination of both user anddistributor preference information.

FIG. 18 shows the configuration of a system for enabling display ofauxiliary content during download of primary content, according toembodiments of the present invention. The term ‘primary content’ shouldbe understood to refer to a collection of downloadable content which mayconsist of any one of video linear streaming data, such as a motionpicture in the MPEG2 format, linear audio streaming data such as MP3data, binary program data, including game data, or any combination ofsuch data. This definition is intended to describe the types of databroadly, and is not limited to any specific data formats such as MPEG2or MP3. On the other hand, excluded from the definition of ‘primarycontent’ are data functioning solely to provide access to a network, forexample, browser software or protocol handlers, whose main function isonly to establish a network connection. ‘Auxiliary content’ refers tothe same types of data. ‘Auxiliary’ can be distinguished from ‘primary’in terms of distributor or advertiser priority, or in terms of theuser's priorities or preferences (i.e., one type of content might bemore important to a user, and thus ‘primary’). In terms of data types,‘primary content’ and ‘auxiliary content’ are coextensive.

With regard to system configuration, as seen in FIG. 18, the downloadmanagement system 1800 is made up of a server side system comprising adownload management server 1810, a primary content database 1860, and acustomer database 1870, which are interconnected by a bi-directionalnetwork 1830. The download management server 1810 is shown connecteddirectly to the databases 1860, 1870 in this embodiment of the serverside system, however server connection to these or comparable databasescan be made over any type of network as well. The “primary content” asdescribed in the preceding paragraph is stored in the primary contentdatabase 1860. The customer database 1870 contains a collection of dataabout individual customers who access the download service through thenetwork 1830. The data for individual customers may consist of thecustomer's name, home address, age, gender, occupation, income, hobbiesand interests, information about family members, purchasing history,preference of gender in content viewed, or any other descriptiveinformation about a user which may be beneficial to advertisers intargeting auxiliary content to customers. Further, such customer data isnot static, but can be updated based on a user's access history of theprimary content data, for example, data concerning which primary contentis accessed and/or how many times a given category (e.g. type of music,genre of movies, etc.) of primary content is accessed may be recordedand used for updating the customer data, thereby enabling advertisers totailor their advertisements more effectively to a given customer.

The download management server 1810 is a server system that is set up tohandle download requests from a user. Access to the server 1810, whichmay comprise one of several servers, is facilitated through a typicaldevice known as a router (not shown) on the network 1830, which directsrequests to the download management server 1810. When the server 1810receives requests from a client console user, the server executes adownload of requested primary content from the primary content database1860. Along with processing requests for downloading of primary content,the server 1810 also retrieves the requesting user's customer data fromthe customer database 1870 and can attach it with the requested primarycontent, transmitting both via the network by means of a knownnetworking protocol standard, such as ftp (file transfer protocol).

The network 1830 may be the Internet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a LocalArea Network (LAN), or any combination thereof. The network is normallya bi-directional digital communications network that connects a client'sterminal hardware with the download management server 1810. With currenttechnologies, a CATV (cable television) bi-directional network, ISDN(Integrated Services Digital Network), DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), orxDSL high-speed networks are examples of existing networkinfrastructures enabling the necessary network connections forimplementing embodiments of the present invention, though they are notintended to be exclusive as to the types of networks capable ofpracticing the present invention. In one embodiment, network 1830 mayrepresent the Internet, in which case the server 1810 typically executesa web server process to transmit data in the form of HTML data to clientcomputers executing web browser processes.

As shown in FIG. 18, the download management system 1800 includes aclient side made up of a client console 1820 comprising a client 1840,and, optionally, a local storage device 1850 that can include aremovable storage media 1852 component The client 1840 can be a personalcomputer, a set top box, a computer/gaming device such as PlayStation®3,a computing device of comparable capabilities, or any terminal deviceproviding access to the system. The local storage device 1850 can be anyconceivable data storage device (e.g., CD- or DVD-ROM, hard disk drive,magnetic, optical or other card drive, zip drive, etc.), and may be, andfrequently is, integral with the client 1840 though is depicted here asa distinct element. Additionally, the removable storage media 1852 canbe compatible and removable directly with the client 1840; this may betrue for embodiments both where the local storage device 1850 isexternal or where it is internal to client 1840.

According to one preferred embodiment, removable storage media 1852 isspecifically intended to be used in a networked environment and tooperate in consort with downloaded primary content retrieved through anetwork connection, in order to provide linked or associated auxiliarycontent that is customized based on user and/or distributor preferences.For example, removable storage media 1852 can store a collection ofinteractive or non-interactive auxiliary content, for exampleadvertisements that may be made up of video images, animations, sounds,applets, etc. In this preferred embodiment, the removable storage media1852 comprises a CD-ROM disc or DVD disc. Moreover, each item ofauxiliary content can include appended “trigger data” which is appendedas an access flag to the auxiliary content, as shall be discussed infurther detail below.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart that illustrates some download management serversteps taken in providing the desired auxiliary content during downloadof primary content, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Execution of this download management process requires thereceipt of necessary user identification and requested contentinformation, as well as the transmission of requested content to theclient console. Once a user desires to download primary content, theuser will make association with the client terminal 1840 portion of theclient console 1820 (FIG. 18). The subsequent steps that the downloadmanagement server goes through to provide both the primary and auxiliarycontent, as shown herein, begin after this initial step of the userassociating him or herself with the client console.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 19, a download management serverfirst performs the step of establishing communication with a networkedclient console, step 1910. Here, as best seen in FIG. 18, thecommunication is indicated as being established with a client console1820, however, it should be understood that this term is interchangeablewith client 1840 (the client terminal) throughout these discussions forthe purpose of disclosing other embodiments not limited by a definableclient console. Once communication has been established with the clientconsole, the download management server then receives a user ID from theclient console, step 1920, for the initial purpose of identifying theparticular user.

Next, in step 1930 of this embodiment, the download management serverretrieves user information from the customer database; this userinformation consisting of the data for individual customers discussedabove with respect to FIG. 18. The download management server thenproceeds to step 1940 where the user's request for content is received.After receiving such user request information, in step 1950, thedownload management server finds the requested content from the primarycontent database.

In the subsequent step, step 1960, the download management server sendsthe requested content to the client console. After such sending ofrequested content, in step 1970, the download management server verifieswhether all of the requested content has been sent. If all of therequested content has not been sent, the server will maintain a state ofsending the requested content to the client console. Once all of thecontent has been sent, however, the download management server moves onto the final operation. The last operation of this embodiment is simplythe release of communication between the download management server andthe client console, step 1980.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart that illustrates some client-side steps taken inproviding the desired auxiliary content during download of primarycontent, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Thepreliminary steps of this client-side process mirror the comparablesteps of FIG. 19 as they occur in a mutually exchanged fashion, and alsobegin with the user making association with the client 1840 portion ofthe client console 1820 (FIG. 18) with the desire to download primarycontent The subsequent steps of FIG. 20, then, also begin after thisinitial step of the user associating him or herself with the clientconsole.

Correspondingly, the first three steps of FIG. 20, establishingcommunication, step 2010, sending a user ID, step 2020, and sending userrequest for primary content, step 2030, are client side steps describingbehavior done with the download management server that precisely mirrorsteps 1910, 1920 and 1940 from FIG. 19, and no additional description iswarranted. The next client side step, step 2040, is to begin playingauxiliary content stored in the local storage device. The auxiliarycontent played as a result of this step can be default auxiliary contentor can be selected according to preferences and procedures originatingon the client side in the client console; additionally, the auxiliarycontent can be dictating by distributor preferences and procedurestransmitted over the network immediately prior to provision of theauxiliary content As a specific example of such client side procedure, acomparison can be made between various data contained in the userinformation, which may also include information of the currentlyrequested primary content, and trigger data appended with each of theauxiliary content, and for those items for which a match is found, theauxiliary content is extracted. The auxiliary content items are thenplayed/executed along with the primary content.

The client console then receives the requested primary content, as shownin step 2050. After receiving such content, in step 2060, the clientverifies whether all of the requested primary content has been sent. Ifall of the requested primary content has not been sent, the clientconsole will maintain a state of receiving the requested content fromthe download management server. Once all of the content has been sent,however, the client moves on to the final two operations. First, theclient stops playing the auxiliary content stored in the local storagedevice, step 2070, then, in final step 2080, the communication with thedownload management server is released.

During operation of the preferred embodiments, the client console 1820receives and downloads the designated primary content, wherein thedownloaded primary content is stored on the local storage media such asa hard disk drive HDD or any conceivable externally attached re-writablestorage medium, as discussed above. The auxiliary content to be providedduring download can be: (1) static content specifically associated withthe primary content, (2) content variable based on user or distributorpreferences, as detailed immediately below, and/or (3) variable contentselected on either the server side or the client side, as described inmore detail further below.

In these preferred embodiments, the auxiliary content provided can bevaried based on one or more user preferences, one or more distributorpreferences, or a combination of both user and distributor preferenceinformation. With respect to user preferences, either previouslyacquired information is used or the user is prompted to chose from aselection of specific content items and categories of content; defaultcontent is provided if no user preferences are available/selected. Withrespect to distributor preferences, the download management server sendsthe user auxiliary content assignment data before sending the requestedprimary content; according to the data, the client computer executes theappropriate auxiliary content stored in the local storage.

In all of the embodiments, the content may be separated into categoriesto facilitate selection of the appropriate content for particular users,and for other functionality. For example, the content might becategorized into: (1) images, movie data, and other audiovisual content,(2) music, (3) games, such as video game software, (4) customer surveys,and/or (5) lots, or related interactive polling data. With regard tosuch customer surveys and lots, the interactive user results are sent tothe download management server, and can be used to various advantages,such as to assist in the selection of auxiliary content or to obtainupdated customer profiles.

During operation of another preferred embodiment, the client console1820 receives downloaded primary content together with attached userinformation that is acquired by the download management server by meansof a user identification code (as described in more detail below). Theuser identification code may provide data sufficient for the downloadmanagement server to identify the user anywhere from broadly, such as bycategory of how the user acquired a piece of removable storage media, tovery specifically, such as an individual user from a mailing list ofsuch prospective customers. The access software first accesses and loadsone or more interactive or non-interactive auxiliary content files whichmatch the downloaded user information and/or the downloaded primarycontent. More specifically, a comparison is made between the userinformation and ‘trigger data’ contained within each piece of auxiliarycontent, and if data contained in the trigger data match with the userinformation, the auxiliary content item is then loaded and queued forplayback in the client console 1820.

In addition, a given request for specified primary content may alsospawn the loading and queuing of specific auxiliary content. Suchspecific auxiliary content, for example, might be interactive contentwherein various questions may be asked of the user or other userbehavior monitored, which can then form part of download record and beused for updating information on the customer in the customer database1870. In the case of non-interactive content, information of whichadvertisements have been viewed might later be used to update customerinformation.

In the preferred embodiments, in general, removable storage media 1852stores data comprising auxiliary content to be viewed by the user of theclient console, wherein the auxiliary content is made up of a pluralityof content items each with an appended set of trigger data. Theremovable storage media 1852 can further hold a unique mediaidentification section, which serves for identifying the removablestorage media itself (such as an alphanumeric CD-ROM/DVD serial number),and an authentication code which is used for authenticating access tothe download management server 1810, and which can also establishes auser identifier for the user who utilizes the removable storage media1852 in the client console 1820. It is conceivable that the mediaidentification code and the authentication code could be the same,although preferably the functions of server access and storagemedia/customer identification are facilitated by separate codes.Alternatively, the media identification section can comprise a softwareprogram that generates a unique user identifier in association with aprompt for user input of initial user data, such as the name address,etc. of the user. It should be understood that once the mediaidentification becomes associated with user information, the mediaidentification operates as a user identifier, so these terms might beused interchangeably hereinafter.

In any embodiment, a user identification code and authorization codealso serve jointly as an enabling key through which access to givenprimary content is authorized by the download management server 1810.More specifically, when the media identification code is uploaded to theserver 1810, on the basis of this code, the server 1810 can determinewhich primary content, from among multiple content in the primarycontent database 1860, are authorized for access to the user on thebasis of the user identifier. Should such a media identifier not bepresent, or be deemed to be incorrect or outdated, access to the primarycontent is suspended. Thus, the correct removable storage media 1852must be present in the client console, and a correct and non-outdatedremovable storage media identifier must be determined, in order foraccess to the server 1810 to be authorized. Another possibility is thatthe authorization code provides access to a given server dedicated fordownloading of specified primary content from among multiple content ina primary content database 1860.

The removable storage media 1852 can additionally contain a networkaccess data piece indicating that the removable storage media 1852 isintended for interaction with a server in a networked environment. Thisindicator may itself comprise network access software which enables thenecessary network connection, or may simply comprise a flag indicatingthat network software residing in the client console 1820 should beloaded and executed In the latter case, the network software residing inthe client console 1820 may comprise a small program for establishing aminimal network connection to enable more versatile network software tobe downloaded from the server and executed in the client console 1820.

In environments where it is desired that only some of the availableprimary content is downloadable to a given user, the user may bepresented with a menu option which displays only those primary contentitems, from among all items contained in the primary content database1860, that are authorized to the user for downloading and viewing,thereby facilitating selection by the user. While menu options may beprovided as a function of a menu routine executed from the removablestorage media 1852, the server side the download management server 1810is capable of controlling which primary content is downloadable based onthe media identification code. In other words, the user cannot requestprimary content that is not authorized for the applicable mediaidentification code.

In the broadest preferred embodiment, the auxiliary content is executedfor playback while the requested primary content is downloading. Theauxiliary content stored in the local storage device is played by theclient console during download of the primary content until the primarycontent is finished downloading. It shall be understood that other modesfor execution of auxiliary and primary content are to be contemplatedwithin the knowledge of persons skilled in the art. For example, theauxiliary content can be played back before the running of the primarycontent, so that the user is not permitted to view the primary contentuntil after the auxiliary content has been viewed, or otherwise run itscourse, for example by interaction with the user in the case ofinteractive content. Interaction between primary and auxiliary contentis also possible. For example, in the case where the primary content isan interactive game, the appearance of a character, scene or other dataitem in the primary content can be used to trigger actions in theauxiliary content.

It is significant not only that the auxiliary content is provided viaremovable storage media 1852, but also that the system enables a pairingor linkage between the auxiliary content on the removable storage media1852 and specified downloadable primary content, and wherein, by meansof key data on the storage media, the removable storage media 1852provides the avenue of access to the primary content. In this manner,auxiliary content providers, typically advertisers, are able to directremovable storage media 1852 to customers whose motivation will be toaccess valuable and popular primary content, whereas the primary contentprovider, through the key, can additionally control access to primarycontent based on a specified time period during which the removablestorage media 1852 can be used.

In-Contents Advertising Method

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an overall system wherein arelated server or terminal is connected to a network 2100, such as cabletelevision, a broad-band wireless network, or an optical fiber network,for example. As shown in FIG. 21, connected to the network 2100 are acontents provider system 2120 made up of a contents server 2140 and asystem 2130, an advertising agency server 2150 having a database 2160such as advertisement information data and the like for configuring anadvertisement information creating system, terminals 2170-1 through2170-N which are terminals of a contents providing company such as agame software company or the like, advertiser terminals 2180-1 through2180-N, user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N, a bank server 2110, and anadvertisement creating company server 2111.

Now, the contents server 2140 is for distributing digital contentsrequested from users 2190-1 through 2190-N, and stores massive amountsof contents digital contents produced by authoring at the contentsproviding company 2170-1 through 2170-N, e.g., contents such as games orthe like.

The overall system will be described with reference to FIG. 22. Thecontents providing company 2170-1 through 2170-N provides theadvertising agency server with advertisement structure informationindicating portions and time slots in which advertisements can beinserted, demonstration information, etc. ((1) providing advertisementstructure information), and this is registered in the database 2160 ofthe advertising agency server 2150. The advertising agency server 2150directly informs the advertiser terminals 2180-1 through 2180-N of theadvertisement informing information such as ‘title;’ ‘contents;’ etc.,of a newly-registered title, by mail or otherwise ((2) informing).

The advertiser 2180-1 through 2180-N can access the advertising agencyserver 2150, and can view the advertisement informing information ((3)viewing), and further apply for advertising from the browser screen ((4)application). Once the advertisers have been decided upon, advertiserspecified information such as ‘advertiser name,’ time slot, and timeperiod, are notified to the contents providing company terminals 2170-1through 2170-N from the advertising agency server 2150 by mail or thelike ((5) notification). Also, advertiser specified information andadvertisement structure information are supplied to the server 2111 ofthe advertisement creating company from the advertising agency server2150 ((6) ordering). The advertisement creating company createsadvertisement information based on the advertiser specified informationand advertisement structure information. The completed advertisementinformation such as bitmap data or the like is delivered from the server2111 of the advertisement creating company to the advertising agencyserver 2150 ((7) delivery).

Next, the fact that the advertisement has been completed is notifiedfrom the advertising agency server 2150 to the advertiser via theterminals 2180-1 through 2180-N, by mail or the like ((8) notification).The advertiser can view the completed advertisement information on theadvertising agency server 2150 via the terminals 2180-1 through 2180-N((9) viewing). If the advertiser presses an “OK” button or the likehere, the product is delivered, and an itinerary is sent from theadvertising agency server 2150 to the contents providing company via thecontents providing company terminals 2170-1 through 2170-N, by mail orthe like. The breakdown of the itinerary is ‘advertiser,’ ‘time slot,’‘period,’ ‘advertising fees,’ and so forth.

The advertising information from the advertising agency server 2150 isprovided to the contents providing company via the contents providingcompany terminals 2170-1 through 2170-N ((10) delivery (itinerary)). Atthe contents providing company, the advertisement information is mergedwith digital contents and advertising programs by authoring processing,and then registered in the contents server 2140 of the contents provider2120 ((11) registration).

The user applies for the contents (e.g., a driving game) using terminals2190-1 through 2190-N ((12) application), and starts downloading ((13)download). At this time, the contents provider 2140 notifies theadvertising agency server 5 of the fact of the download request and thetitle thereof, etc. The advertising agency server 2150 transmits theadvertisement information data corresponding to the received title tothe system 2130 of the contents provider 2120. If necessary, thecontents provided can update the advertisement information based on theadvertising program of the digital contents regarding which downloadinghas been requested, using received updated advertisement informationdata.

The user can download the requested digital contents via the userterminals 2190-1 through 2190-N ((14) advertisement information). Afterdownloading the digital contents, the user activating the digitalcontents renders the updated advertisement information (delivered in theabove step (7)) within the contents, by the updated advertising programadded to the contents.

On the other hand, the state of advertisement such as the number of setsof digital contents distributed are notified from the advertising agencyserver 2150 to the advertiser via the advertiser terminals 2180-1through 2180-N ((15) notification), and also the same information isnotified to the contents providing company via the contents providingcompany terminals 2170-1 through 2170-N ((16) notification). Further,invoicing of the advertiser and payment amount of the contents providingcompany based on the same information is notified to the bank by theserver 2110. Thus, the bank bills the advertiser, and pays the contentsproviding company.

The in-contents advertising method, in-contents advertising server, andprogram-transferring medium for realizing in-contents advertising,according to the present invention can be applied to advertising dealingwith networks. Also, according to the present invention, contents suchas a driving game or the like are provided from a contents server 2140of a contents provider to the user, and advertisement information set inthe advertisement areas therein is separately provided to the user fromthe server 2150 of the advertising agency. Accordingly, the advertisinginformation can be readily updated whenever appropriate, without newstamper creation.

FIGS. 23A and 23B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example ofdata configuration of advertisement structure information supplied tothe advertising agency server 5 via the contents providing companyterminals 2170-1 through 2170-N in the above advertisement informationproviding step (1).

As shown in FIG. 23A here, the advertisement structure information ismade up of a header with the ID of the contents providing company,title, etc., movie data (graphics data of several tens to severalhundreds of frames) 2321, a demonstration game program 2322, object data2323, multiple sets of texture data 2324, and so forth.

Now, the demonstration program 2322 is the actual title programsimplified for a demonstration. Also, the object data 2323 is acollection of coordinates values of objects made up of polygon apex dataor the like, for example. The texture data 2324 is pattern data of theobject data converted from 3-dimensional data to 2-dimensional data bytransparent conversion and subsequently written to areas indicated bycoordinates value, and in the event that the object data is a racingcar, for example, the texture data is the coloring pattern on the body,and so forth.

As shown in FIG. 23A here, advertisement insertable information AD1 isset into the movie 2321 area, advertisement insertable information AD2is set at the head of the object area, and advertisement insertableinformation AD3 and AD4 are set to the heads of each texture area. Forexample, AD1 contains information such as a code indicating thatadvertisements may be inserted, code indicating that the data is amovie, the number of insertion frames, resolution etc., AD2 containsinformation such as a code indicating that advertisements may beinserted, code indicating that the data is an object, and AD3 and AD4each contain information such as a code indicating that advertisementsmay be inserted, code indicating that the insertion format may be any ofall or part of texture, code indicating that the data is texture, therange of the texture in the event of all, the range of the texture inthe event of part, and so forth. The advertising agency server 2150makes reference to this information and thus generates the viewingscreen for the advertiser in the above viewing step (3).

FIG. 23B is a screen display example of a screen which the advertisercan view by accessing the advertising agency server 2150. As shown inFIG. 23B here, the display screen is made up of list data Da such astitle, manufacturer, advertisement target 1, estimated amount,advertisement target 2, estimated amount, and so forth, and switches andthe like displayed below, which are a game demo switch SW1 for executingthe game demo, an advertisement sample switch SW2 for showing anadvertisement sample, switches SW3 through SWn for specifyingadvertisement targets 1 through n, and estimate sum switch SWn+1 forcalculating and displaying the estimate sum, an input area IN1 forinputting the advertisement carrying period, an input area IN2 forinputting the advertisement carrying time slot, and an applying switchSWn+2 for applying.

In the above applying step (4), the advertiser can watch the game demoand the advertisement sample, select the advertisement object, input theadvertisement carrying period and time slot, confirm the estimated sum,and apply, Note that data of the same contents of the above list isformed in the database 2160 of the advertising agency server 2150.

In the event that the advertiser presses the schedule button SWn+3, aschedule SC1 such as shown in FIG. 24 is displayed on a monitor (notshown) connected to the terminals 2180-1 through 2180-N of theadvertiser, along with buttons Bu1 through Bun for selecting advertisingtargets, a monthly schedule SC2 for specifying the month, and a dailyschedule SC3 for specifying the day.

The schedule SC1 is made up of time slot, status, and monetary amount.The time slot is in increments of one hour, for example. The statusindicates whether or not another advertiser has already applied, with acircle meaning that application can be made, and an X implying thatapplication cannot be made. In other words, an X means that anotheradvertiser has already applied for that time slot.

This schedule is made for each advertisement target. As shown in theFigure, advertising target 1 is selected for the current schedule. Here,the button Bu1 for the advertisement target 1 is displayed in inverse(hatched in the figure). Also, May (hatched) is specified for the month,and the 10th (framed) for the day.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating one of the user terminals 2190-1through 2190-N, e.g., 2190-1. As shown in FIG. 25 here, the userterminal 2190-1 comprises a user terminal 2512, monitor 2513, main datastorage 2514, sub-data storage 2515, controller 2516, and interface 2517for network 2100. This terminal 2190-1 is an entertainment systemrepresented by home game computers for example, wherein the main datastorage 2514 is a hard disk drive or a high-speed optical disk drive orthe like, and the sub-data storage 2515 is flash memory. Game data G1through Gn containing advertisement programs API through APn as shown inFIG. 26 respectively are each stored in the main data storage 2514. Theother user terminals 2190-2 through 2190-N are of a similarconfiguration.

As shown in FIG. 26, the sets of game data G1 through Gn are each madeup of a header 2630 of contents providing company name, title, date ofsale, etc., and movie data 2631, program data 2632, object data 2633,multiple sets of texture data 2634, advertising program data AP, and soforth. Here, the program data is not a demonstration program like theadvertisement structure information, but is an authentic programintended for sale. Also, with regard to the advertising program data,advertisement information is obtained from the advertising agency server2150 based on the embedded above information indicating thatadvertisements may be inserted, and the advertisement information isdisplayed in the game.

Next, with reference to FIG. 27, description will be made theadvertising carrying operation of the advertising program in the eventthat the user has activated contents downloaded to an own terminal2190-1 through 2190-N.

Once the digital contents such as a game or the like downloaded to theterminals 2190-1 through 2190-N is activated, the advertisement programis activated, in step 2710, judgment is made by the advertisementprogram whether or not the digital contents have been activated, and inthe event that this yields “YES”, the flow proceeds to step 2720. Instep 2720, the advertising program accesses the server 2150 of theadvertising agency, and also in step 2730, makes notification of thetitle of the digital contents activated on the user terminal 2190-1through 2190-N, and user address. Thus, the server 5 reads out theadvertisement data corresponding to the database 2160, and transfersthis to the above address. In step 2740, the user terminal 2190-1through 2190-N receives the above advertising data under control of theadvertising program, records this in the main data storage 2514 (seeFIG. 25) in step 2750, and in step 2760 generates a table of informationindicating addresses in the main data storage for advertisement data,and the position of the advertisement target, (i.e., informationindicating which advertisement insertable information this is, like thatshown in FIG. 26).

Once the game starts in step 2770, subsequently in step 2780 judgment ismade whether or not the position is the position for insertingadvertisement information, and in the event that this yields “YES”, instep 2790 the corresponding advertisement data is positioned at thecorresponding position in the memory. It is needless to say that thispositioning is made at an earlier point in the progression of the game.Also, an arrangement may be made wherein not all advertisement data isobtained at once, but rather a little is obtained at a time as the gameprogresses. Further, movie data is preferably placed in the main memoryor a graphics engine buffer immediately before the game starts, objectdata is preferably placed in the main memory either immediately beforethe game starts or before the data is used, and texture data ispreferably placed in the main memory or a graphics engine buffer eitherimmediately before the game starts or before the data is used.

Thus, with driving games for example, arrangements can be realizedwherein cars the same as cars actually manufactured and sold by theadvertiser can be operated by the user, or wherein advertisements of theadvertiser are carried on the body of the car operated by the user, andso forth.

Next, with reference to FIG. 28, description will be made regardingoperation of the advertising agency server 2150 in the event thatadvertising data is requested by the advertising program.

In step 2810, judgment is made regarding whether or not there is accessfrom the user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N, and in the event thatthis yields “YES”, the title of the digital contents and the useraddress is received from the terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N in step2820, the database 2160 is referred to in step 2830, advertisement datacorresponding to the title is read out in step 2840, the advertisementdata is transmitted to the user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-Nindicated by the user address received in step 2850, and thetransmission record for the advertising data is updated in step 2860.Counting the number of times of updating the transmission record allowsmeasurement of how many advertisements have been viewed to be made, andpayment to the contents providing company and billing the advertiser canbe calculated based on this value.

Next, carrying advertisements at the time of downloading digitalcontents will be described with reference to FIG. 29.

In step 2910, the system 2130 of the contents provider 2140 judgeswhether or not there has been a request for downloading digital contentsfrom the user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N, and in the event thatthis yields “YES”, the flow proceeds to step 2920, and then notifies thetitle to the advertising agency server 2150. The advertising agencyserver 2150 searches the database 2160 for the advertising informationdata corresponding to the received title, and transmits this to thesystem 2130 of the contents provider 2120. In step 2930, the system 2130of the contents provider 2120 receives the downloading advertisementdata. In step 2940, once the contents server 2140 starts downloading thedigital contents, the system 2130 transmits advertisement informationdata to the download destination user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N instep 2950. Thus, a corresponding advertisement is output on the monitorof the downloading user terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N. In step 2960,the system judges whether or not the download from the contents server2140 has ended, and in the event that this yields “YES”, the flow ends,and in the event that this is “NO”, the flow proceeds to step 2950again.

It should be understood that the present invention is by no meansrestricted to the above-described embodiment. The present invention cantake on other forms such as the following variations, for example.

An arrangement may be made wherein the advertising agency server 2150directly sends advertising information data to the user terminals 2190-1through 2190-N. In this case, the advertising agency server 2150 needsto receive data indicating starting and ending of downloading from theuser terminals 2190-1 through 2190-N, and also receive the title ofdigital contents, user address requesting the download, etc., from thesystem 2130 of the contents provider, beforehand.

Though the advertisements in the above example only involved images, itis needless to say that advertisements using audio can be similarlycarried.

In the above example, advertisement information is set into the contentseach time there is a digital contents download request from the user,but the present invention is not restricted to this. Instead, theadvertising information can be updated as necessary regardingadvertisement contents, carrying period, etc., based on specificationsfrom the advertiser.

As described above, according to the present invention, an in-contentsadvertising method, an in-contents advertising server, and aprogram-transferring medium for realizing in-contents advertising,capable of application to advertising dealing with networks, can beprovided.

Further, according to the present invention, an in-contents advertisingmethod, an in-contents advertising server, and a program-transferringmedium for realizing in-contents advertising, capable of easily updatingthe advertisement contents whenever appropriate, can be provided.

Advertising Impression Determination

Embodiments of the presently described advertising systems may also beutilized to provide for the targeting of advertisements. Providinginformation over a communications network requires proper addressing ofthat information to an end-user. For example, a network address (e.g.,an Internet Protocol address) may be static and assigned to a particularuser. Identifying the actual user assigned to this address may beachieved through the network service provider (e.g., an ISP) that isassigned the network address and aware of the address of that user.Alternatively, a user may register with a content provider (e.g., anon-line gaming network), which may require providing specificinformation (e.g., name, e-mail, billing address and so forth).

In the case of acquiring end-user information from a network provider(e.g., through a commercial information sharing agreement), the acquiredinformation may reflect billing information (i.e., certain geographicinformation). Similarly, registering with the content provider mayreflect certain geographic information of the user (e.g., billinginformation). As a result of this geographic information, an advertisermay target geographic or region-specific advertisements.

For example, an end-user that resides in Boston may have little interestin receiving information concerning New York Yankee season ticket sales.Similarly, there would likely be little value to advertise a regionalproduct or service such as a restaurant in New York to someone whoresides in San Francisco where that product or service is not offered.National advertising campaigns concerning a regional product or servicewould likely be ineffective relative a return on the advertisinginvestment and may annoy the user receiving those advertisements,because the user may have no interest/access to the product or servicebeing advertised. In contrast, a user in San Francisco might haveinterest in receiving advertisements related to San Francisco Giantsseason ticket sales or a concert in the area; that is, geographicallyrelevant advertisements.

By acquiring geographic information of a user (either through directregistration or a service provider), advertisements can be targeted sothat the appropriate advertisement is directed to the user. In this way,advertising dollars are ensured a greater return on investment. Forexample, products localized to Boston are advertised to persons livingin the Boston area and products specific to San Francisco are advertisedto persons residing in the San Francisco area.

Geographic information may also be inferred from other availableinformation. For example, an IP address may identify a particular regionof a country through geo-location. While geo-location via an IP addressis not as accurate as explicit registration with a service provider, itprovides a greater degree of accuracy than would blind advertisementcampaigns. Thus, even dynamic IP addresses that are not consistentlyassociated with any particular user (but instead a service provider whomay recycle the address amongst a group of users) may have someadvertising value due to geo-location techniques.Geographically-specific advertisements may be provided to thegeo-located user, although there remains the possibility that suchadvertisements may be less accurately targeted than an advertisementwith a specific geographic affiliation.

Advertisements may also be more accurately tracked with regard to actualimpressions thereby allowing for more accurate determinations ofadvertising campaign value or proper remuneration to a provider of theadvertisement relative those impressions. For example, an advertisementmay have 1,000,000 impressions over a 2 week period. While this numbermay be impressive in a vacuum, when it is learned that 75% of thoseimpressions occurred in a geographic region where the product or serviceis unavailable, the number of impressions becomes much less valuable.Many of the impressions were wasted on portions of the consuming publicthat will not or, perhaps even worse, cannot purchase the service orproduct. Thus, an advertiser can purchase a particular number ofimpressions with the caveat that those impressions be within aparticular geographic region to count against a total overall ad buy.

Direct targeting of users may also take place using variations of theaforementioned identification methodologies. For example, in theregistration scenario, a user may provide certain ‘likes’ or ‘dislikes’in a user profile generated during the registration process. A user mayindicate favorite sports teams, favorite hobbies, and the like. As aresult of the user profile reflecting that a user is a Boston Red Soxfan, the user may be presented with certain advertisements that relateto World Series Memorabilia from the Red Sox 2004 World Series victory,and not a compilation of the New York Yankees World Series victories.Similarly, a user that identifies an affiliation with the San Francisco49ers may receive 49er related advertisements instead of advertisementsrelated to the Oakland Raiders. Alternative or more generic profilefactors may also be implemented and/or utilized as are available and/orrelevant to a particular advertiser.

This type of targeted advertising may be extremely useful when a productor service is available nationwide but has limited popularity or salesin particular regions. For example, a product may be available over theInternet (e.g., through Amazon.com) but also available at a number ofbrick and mortar stores in one particular region of the country (e.g.,the West Coast). A user on the East Coast might purchase these productsif he was aware of particular sale opportunities or new productreleases. If that user does not live on the West Coast where anadvertising campaign is in effect, however, they may never receiveadvertisements related to that product as advertising dollars have beenallocated to a in the locale where brick and mortar stores are located.If the East Coast user indicated an affinity for a particular product ina profile, advertisements can be presented to this user via the in-gameadvertising system 100 even though the user lives in a region whereproduct sales are otherwise low and advertising (in traditional mediaforms) is low or entirely non-existent. Through such targetedadvertising, not only are impressions generated amongst able buyers, butalso amongst willing and highly interested buyers making each impressionall the more valuable.

Certain learning intelligence may also be implemented to aid in thedirect or geographic targeting advertising process. For example, a gameuser may participate in an on-line baseball league. Registration forthat league may be limited solely to a user name and billinginformation. If the user resides in Southern California, it would be (asa broad-based assumption) unlikely for this game user to be a fan of theFlorida Marlins and (as another assumption) probably a fan of the LosAngeles Dodgers or the Anaheim Angels. Such assumptions may prove to befalse.

But if the same user, via the on-line baseball league, continuallyselects the Florida Marlins as his team of choice, an embodiments of thepresent invention may recognize the repetitive behavior (e.g., theselection of a particular team, or a particular character in a game).Based on the repetitive behavior of the user, an assumptive profile of auser may be generated.

Further, if the user plays the networked/on-line baseball league fifteentimes and elects to play with the Marlins fourteen of those times, itwould be an intelligent assumption that the user is a Marlins fan eventhough the user lives in Southern California. As a result, certainadvertisements in the game environment may be directed toward fanmerchandise for the Florida Marlins, instead of for the Dodgers or arandom advertisement.

Such targeted advertising is not limited to favorites or affiliations ofthe user. Direct targeting may also utilize demographics such as gender,age, and the nature of the game itself. Gender may be specificallyidentified or presumed based on the content of a video game. Age may bebased on a specific identification or a presumption related to thematurity of a particular game. The nature of the game itself mayindicate demographic information of the user or relevant advertisingcontent. For example, a sports game may generate sports advertisementwhereas role playing games may generate advertisement specific to thenature of the game such as combat or fantasy. Various combinations orsubsets of targeted advertising may also be utilized (e.g., age andgender relative a particular genre of video game).

These intelligent determinations or analyses based on variousdemographics may take place at an advertisement server via anappropriate software module providing for such deductive or intelligentdeterminations.

It should be noted that the present disclosure describes numerousinventive components that may operate individually or with otherinventive components outlined herein. One such inventivecomponent—tracking what advertisements the user sees—involves monitoringthe view perspective of the user (e.g., the point-of-view of the gamecharacter or of the actual user via a game camera) and calculating whenthe user has experienced an ad impression. One embodiment of this methodfurther allows for object occlusion detection. Such impressioninformation may then be returned to an ad server or other component ofthe system.

FIG. 30 illustrates line-of-sight obstacles as may be found in a gameenvironment 3000. FIG. 30 illustrates a game character 3010 (asreflected by the camera icon), an advertisement 3020, one or moreobstacles 3030-3080 and line-of-sight 3090 relative the game character3010 and its current viewing orientation to the advertisement 3020. Itshould be noted that any references to a game character in the presentdisclosure is also inclusive of a game camera as to include variouspoints-of-view of the game character of the video game as well as thatof the actual user. In one embodiment, the point-of-view is that of theactual user (player) of the video game such that the impression of anadvertisement or other information is actually that of the user as wouldbe most like an advertising impression in the real-world. Obstacles3030-3080 may be representative of any object in the gaming environment3000. Walls, corners, pillars, objects (e.g., boxes, signs, rows oflockers, doors, etc.), other game characters, opaque glass or even otheradvertisements (that is, not advertisement 3020) may be representativeof the obstacles 3030-3080.

In an ideal advertising environment, game character 3010 andadvertisement 3020 would be separated by an unbroken line-of-sight. Thatis, obstacles 3030-3080 would not break line-of-sight 3090 whereby gamecharacter 3010 (and its controlling user through, for example, afirst-person game view) would have a full and uninterrupted view of andexposure to advertisement 3020. Such an uninterrupted view of andexposure to advertisement 3020 is desirous in that it provides for anadvertising impression most like that as would be encountered in thereal-world (e.g., reading a newspaper advertisement, viewing a billboardor attentively viewing a television commercial). That is, persons in thereal-world are generally able to view an advertisement (or at leastposition themselves) such that other objects in the environment do notobscure a view of that advertisement.

But as is shown in FIG. 30, line-of-sight 3090 is interrupted atmultiple points by obstacles 3030, 3040 and 3050. Obstacle 3030 may be astack of boxes whereas obstacle 3040 may be a soda machine whileobstacle 3050 may be a corner in a hallway. The exact nature ofobstacles 3030, 3040 and 3050 is irrelevant except for the fact thatthey are interrupting line-of-sight 3090 between game character 3010 andadvertisement 3020. Such a scenario as illustrated in FIG. 30 is commonin complex game environments such as those offered by role-playing orfirst-person adventure games, where users navigate through the gamingenvironment 3000 and the objects that exist therein.

The interruption of the line-of-sight 3090 as caused by obstacles 3030,3040 and 3050 may partially (or wholly) prevent the character 3010 fromviewing the advertisement 3020. Depending on the exact angle ofobstacles 3030, 3040 and 3050, the character 3010 may be able to seecertain portions of advertisement 3020, but those portions may beminimal compared to the greater portion of the advertisement 3020obscured by obstacles 3030, 3040 and 3050. In some cases, an advertisermay have paid significant sums of money for the placement ofadvertisement 3020 in game environment 3000. However, the advertisement3020 may never be viewed as was intended by the advertiser (e.g., afull-frontal observation of the advertisement 3020 for a given period oftime in order to allow the game user controlling game character 3010 toreview and comprehend the advertisement 3020). The advertiser may,therefore, have expended certain sums of money with absolutely no endbenefit as the user of the game (via character 3010) did not view theadvertisement 3020. This lack of an advertisement impression resultseven though character 3010 is actually standing directly in front ofadvertisement 3020 and has their line-of-sight 3090 oriented in the samedirection.

FIG. 31 illustrates a positional relationship between a game character3120 and an advertisement 3110 in a game environment 3100, in oneembodiment in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 31,advertisement 3110 is located at a predetermined position in the gameenvironment 3100. This positioning may be along a wall 3150 in the gameenvironment 3100. For example, advertisement 3110 may be a posteradvertising an upcoming concert, advertisement 3110 having been pushedinto the game environment 3100 by various components of the in-gameadvertising system 100 (FIG. 1) (e.g., via asset tagging, whereby therelevance or ‘freshness’ of the advertisement 3110 can be continuallyupdated after the initial release of the game). In the present example,the advertisement 3110 (poster) may be positioned on the wall 3150 of,for example, a record store in the game environment 3100.

The game character 3120 may enter this particular portion of the gameenvironment 3100 (the record store) through, for example, an entryway3160. As can be seen in FIG. 31, the game character 3120, upon initialentry into the game environment 3100, may be standing directly adjacentto and oriented toward the advertisement 3110. Due to the positioning ofthe game character 3120 relative the advertisement 3110, however, thegame character may not be able to actually see or be exposed to theadvertisement 3110 regardless of the orientation of the game character3120 in the general direction of the poster (advertisement 3110).

The game character's 3120 inability to view the advertisement 3110 inFIG. 31 is a result of the game character 3120 being outside animpression area 3350 defined, in part, by a combination of a first angleθ_(i) and a second angle θ_(r) relative to a surface vector 3360. Thefirst angle θ_(i) is the angle measured from a ray 3170 to the surfacenormal 3190 (θ) wherein normal incidence is an angle of zero. The secondangle θ_(r) is the angle measured from a ray 3180 to the surface normal3190. The second angle θ_(r), at least with regard to isotropic surface,is identical to the first angle θ_(i)(i.e., θ_(i)=θ_(r)). In FIG. 31,the first angle θ_(i) and the second angle θ_(r) each have an angle ofabout 30^(θ) relative the surface normal 3190.

The surface vector 3360 comprising a unit length (e.g., a distance fromthe advertisement) further defines the impression area 3350 for apredetermined distance from the surface of the advertisement 3110. Thesurface vector 3360 relative the advertisement 3110 is defined, forexample, as being 20 feet. Absent any obstructions in the impressionarea 3350, if the game character 3120 is within 20 feet of theadvertisement 3110 and within the angles defined by first ray 3170 andsecond ray 3180 (i.e., +/−30° relative the surface normal 3190), thenthe game character 3120 is within the impression area 3350.

A user controlling the game character 3120 within the impression areaand facing the advertisement 3110 will be able to view the advertisement3110. That is, an impression will be established for the advertisement3110 as would normally occur in the real world (e.g., while the user isstanding in front of a billboard). Alternatively, if the game character3120 is not within the impression area 3350 as defined by first ray3170, second ray 3180 and surface vector 3360, then no impression isgenerated.

FIG. 32 illustrates a second positional relationship between a gamecharacter 3220 and an advertisement 3210 in a game environment 3200, inone embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The gameenvironment 3200 of FIG. 32 is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 31with the exception of the position of game character 3220. In FIG. 32,game character 3220 is positioned directly in front of and exposed tothe advertisement 3210.

An impression area 3230 is defined in a manner similar to that of FIG.31. That is, a first ray 3270 and a second ray 3280 relative surfacenormal 3290 in conjunction with surface vector/distance 3240. Becausegame character 3230 is located within the impression area 3230 of theadvertisement 3210, an advertising impression is generated.

FIG. 33A illustrates a positional relationship between a game character3320 and an advertisement 3330 relative an obstacle 3340 in animpression area 3310 in a game environment 3300, in one embodiment inaccordance with the present invention. The impression area 3310 of thegame environment 3300 is defined in a manner similar to that describedabove (e.g., a first and second ray relative a surface normal with apredetermined distance relative the advertisement 3330). Game character3320 is positioned within the impression area 3310 and the orientationof the line-of-sight of the game character 3320 is toward theadvertisement 3330. The line-of-sight from the game character 3320 tothe advertisement 3330 is, however, at least partially obscured by theobstacle 3340 within an obstructed area 3345.

With the increased graphic complexity of many video games, placement ofobjects about a game environment increasingly provides a challenge tocreating advertising impressions. For example, in FIG. 33A, due to theposition of the game character 3320 relative the obstacle 3340, the gamecharacter 3320 cannot view the advertisement 3330. Therefore, noadvertising impression is made to the user controlling the gamecharacter 3320.

Determining whether a game character falls within an obstructed area canbe accomplished by using line-of-sight determination. In FIG. 34,obstructed line-of-sight 3420 is shown between game character 3400 andadvertisement 3410, in one embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention. FIG. 34 also shows unobstructed line-of-sight 3450 betweengame character 3400 at a different position relative advertisement 3410.The determination of obstruction may be established by testingline-of-sight 3420 (or 3450) between game character 3400 (3400′) andadvertisement 3410 that passes through a center of obstruction probe3425.

In some embodiments, obstruction probe 3425 is a spherical object with apredetermined radius r. Obstruction probe 3425 travels along the line ofsight 3420 (or 3450) between game character 3400 (3400′) andadvertisement 3410. If obstruction probe 3425 does not collide with anyobstacles, then the line-of-sight between game character 3400 (3400′)and advertisement 3410 is unobstructed. If game character 3400 islocated in an impression area and oriented toward the advertisement3410, an impression of the advertisement 3410 is generated. Unobstructedline-of-sight 3450 illustrates the absence of object obstruction betweengame character 3400′ and advertisement 3410, which allows for anadvertising impression.

Alternatively, line-of-sight 3420 is obstructed as a result of one ormore objects 3430A . . . 3430C, preventing an advertising impression. Ifthe obstruction probe 3425, while traveling along (obstructed)line-of-sight 3420 intersects one or more polygonal sides 3440 _(a) . .. 3440 _(c) of one or more objects 3430 _(a) . . . 3430 _(c), where eachof one or more objects 3430 _(a) . . . 3430 _(c) is typicallyconstructed from multiple polygonal sides 3440 _(a) . . . 3440 _(c),then an unobstructed view of the advertisement 3410 relative the gamecharacter 3400 is not possible and no advertising impression isgenerated notwithstanding the presence of the game character 3400 in animpression area. Such a scenario—an obstructed line-of-sight and absenceof an advertising impression despite being in an impression area—isillustrated in the aforementioned FIG. 33A.

In some embodiments of the present invention, partial viewing of andexposure to an advertisement may be sufficient to establish anadvertising impression. For example, certain trademarks or logos haveestablished a certain degree of notoriety within the purchasing public.For these famous or easily recognizable trademarks or logos, viewingeven a portion of the trademark or logo may be sufficient to establishan advertising impression. Similar ‘partial viewing impressions’ may beacceptable with regard to slogans, celebrities, famous spokespersons,and so forth. In these instances, even though the obstruction probe 3425may intersect with an object, if the intersection involves only a smallpercentage of the probe 3425, then a partial impression may begenerated. If the object obscures the advertisement in its entirety—100%of the probe 3425 intersects with the object—then no impression isgenerated.

The radius r of the obstruction probe 3425 may be reduced whereby acollision with a polygonal sides 3440 _(a) . . . 3440 _(c) of one ormore objects 3430 _(a) . . . 3430 _(c) may be avoided thus allowing foran unobstructed line-of-sight and, subject to presence in an impressionarea, establishing an advertising impression. In that regard, the radiusr of obstruction probe 3425 may be relative to an advertisement to beviewed. Information relative the setting of radius r may be part ofadvertising data pushed to a video game environment by the advertisingserver 350.

In some embodiments of the present invention, especially those involvingthird-person points-of-view, it may be possible to overcome obstructedlines-of-sight in an effort to create an unobstructed line-of-sight. Forexample, in an in-game advertising system where payment of advertisementspace is made in advance, an advertiser may seek to have theiradvertisement viewed at any cost. In these instances, a camera trackingthe game character may be adjusted to provide an unobstructedline-of-sight to allow for viewing of the advertisement and creating anad impression. Exemplary systems and methods for providing anunobstructed view of an advertisement or other target are disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/268,495, which is incorporated byreference.

FIG. 33B illustrates a positional relationship between a game character3370 and an advertisement 3380 relative an obstacle 3390 in animpression area 3360 of a game environment 3350. The impression area3360 of the game environment 3350 and relative the advertisement 3380 isdefined in a manner similar to that of FIGS. 31 and 10 (e.g., a firstand second angle relative a surface normal combined with a surfacevector). Game character 3370 is positioned within the impression area3360 but is not in an obstructed area 3395 as would be generated byobstacle 3390 like that described in FIG. 33A. A determination of thelack of an obstruction area 3395 or the game character 3370 not beingpositioned in an obstruction area 3395 is determined in a manner similarto that as described in FIG. 34. In that regard, an obstruction probetraverses a line-of-sight between the game character 3370 and theadvertisement 3380 and does not intersect with a polygonal side of anobject. The lack of intersection thus indicates the presence of anunobstructed line-of-sight and the establishment of an advertisementimpression resulting from game character's 3370 exposure to theadvertisement.

FIG. 35A illustrates the correlation between an impression counter 3560and the position of a game character 3520 relative an advertisement 3510in a game environment 3500. Impression counter 3560 measures the timeperiod that the game character 3520 is positioned in impression area3530 with an unobstructed line-of-sight 3550 relative the advertisement3510. As can be seen in FIG. 35A, game character 3520 has anunobstructed line-of-sight 3550 of and exposure to advertisement 3510notwithstanding the presence of object 3540 and obstructed area 3545.

It should be noted that impression counter 3560 is not necessarily astopwatch or other timing device as depicted in FIG. 35A. Impressioncounter 3560, in an embodiment of the present invention, is any timingmechanism governed by hardware or software relative an end-user clientdevice 170 (e.g., a gaming console) that may measure the time periodthat the game character 3520 is positioned in the impression area 3530with an unobstructed line-of-sight 3550 relative the advertisement 3510and may utilize various units and/or measurement schemes. In oneembodiment, a temporal period is used as a unit of measure (e.g.,seconds, fractions of seconds and so forth).

FIG. 35B further illustrates the correlation between an impressioncounter 3560 and the position of a game character 3520 relative anadvertisement 3510 in a game environment 3500. In FIG. 35B, however, thegame character 3520 has moved behind the object 3540 and into theobstructed area 3545. Notwithstanding the fact that the game character3520 remains within the impression area 3530, the game character 3520has an obstructed line-of-sight 3570 relative advertisement 3510. Whenthe line-of-sight of the game character 3520 relative the advertisement3510 becomes obstructed (as is reflected in FIG. 35B), the impressioncounter 3560 terminates. That is, an impression of the advertisement3510 is no longer being generated as the advertisement 3510 has beenobstructed from the game character's 3520 view.

By measuring the length of exposure to an advertisement via impressioncounter 3560, an advertiser can determine the value of an ad impressionor whether an impression has actually been made if the existence of animpression is tied to the duration of presence in the ad impression area(e.g., the time of exposure to the advertisement). For example, apricing model may be established wherein an advertiser is charged basedon the duration of the advertisement impression. The duration of theadvertisement impression is reflected by the impression counter 3560. Inanother pricing model, an advertiser may pay a fee for a certain numberof advertisement impressions. An ad impression may be defined asunobstructed exposure to an advertisement for a certain period of time.For example, and as evidenced in FIG. 35B, the game character 3520 is inthe defined impression area 3530 but is unable to actually view theadvertisement 3510. As such, the advertiser should not have the presenceof the game character 3520 in the impression area 3530 with no view ofthe actual advertisement 3510 constitute an advertisement impression.

The various ad impression determinations may be implemented utilizingsoftware downloads or through software installed on physical media (e.g.a software client on an optical disk) or may be pre-installed in agaming device. Various modules that interact with the ad impressiondetermination software (e.g., receiving ad impression information forreporting to an advertiser) may be further located in various otheraspects of an advertising system (e.g., at ad server).

As noted, various pricing models may be based upon the existence ofadvertising impressions or the quality thereof. For example, anadvertiser may be satisfied knowing that their advertising content hasmade it into a video game. Another advertiser may be more demanding andrequire information related to actual impressions. Using the methodologydescribed in FIG. 34 with regard to determining the existence ofunobstructed lines-of-sight it may be determined whether the useractually viewed the advertisement.

Even more specific, it may be determined how long the user viewed theadvertisement. For example, if a user is merely scanning around the roomfor an exit or a particular object, their line-of-sight may intersectwith the advertisement but the scanning of the room was too quick toallow for any meaningful consideration or understanding of what theadvertisement portrayed. In this scenario, a timer may be implemented aswas described in FIGS. 35A and 35B.

On an even more detailed level, it may be possible to determine thequality of the impression. For example, a user may view an advertisementas a result of being in an impression area. That user may, however, beon the very far edge of the impression area and have slight difficultyviewing the advertisement. This might be the case if a user is utilizinga later model television or computer monitor or is utilizing a computingdevice that has lower graphics processing power. Notwithstandinggraphics output considerations, it is possible to further delineate theimpression area into quality impression areas whereby the advertisementis viewed in every instance but better or worse depending on the exactplacement of the game character when viewing the advertisement.

A game character may be face-to-face with an advertisement. Thecharacter, while clearly within the impression area, may be so close tothe advertisement that he cannot fully view the advertisement or thecopy that he can view is blurred because of the close proximity of thecharacter relative the advertisement in the gaming environment.Similarly, a user may be too far away to fully appreciate theadvertisement. Through delineating quality impressions, advertisers canappreciate a minimal impression (e.g., up close or almost too far away)but also have certain assurances with regard to quality impressions asmay be subject to the particular whims of the advertiser.

Various pricing schemes may be based upon these various levels orquality of impression whereby a general impression is charged at onerate while a higher quality impression is charged at a different rate.Similarly, the length of time a user is in an impression area can becorrelated to a pricing model. For example, if a user is in animpression area for 2-seconds, an impression may have been made butpossibly a minimal one due to the complexity of the advertisement. Ifthe user is in the impression area for 10-seconds, a greater impressionhas been made and has greater value to the advertiser. Limits may beimposed on such an impression counter such that an advertiser is notcharged for a 30-minute impression when a user happens to position hisgame character in front of an advertisement and then leave to attend toanother task for half-an-hour. Notwithstanding the presence in theimpression area for that period of time, a thirty-minute impression hasnot truly been made as the user of the game (the controller of thecharacter) has not been subjected to that advertising copy.

Traditional economic aspects of supply and demand may also come intoplay with various pricing models. For example, if a game is releasedwith great fanfare and is a ‘must buy for the holiday season,’ ad buysin the game may be more expensive. If the game layer proves to beunpopular for a variety of reasons, the pricing levels may decrease toreflect the demand of the game. These determinations as to supply anddemand may be made, in part, based on the location and intrinsic valuedefinition of specific tags, the demand for a tag as driven by thenumber of times tagged assets in a video game are identified duringaverage, peak and off-peak game play thereby resulting in variousrequests to an advertising server.

Similarly, certain video games may have indicia identifying a distinctowner as a result of a user profile or information embedded on the gameor subject to, for example, a network address. An advertiser may alsodetermine that while 1,000 impressions may have occurred for theiradvertisement on a particular day that almost half of those were relatedto a small group of users who continually entered a gaming environmentwhere the advertisement was rendered time-and-again versus 1,000impressions distributed more equally amongst 3000 different, unique gameplayers. The impressions in the latter example are more valuable thenthe repeated impressions amongst a small group of users in the firstexample.

Certain embodiments of the exemplary in-game advertising systemdescribed in the present invention may also allow for certaininteractions with the products advertised in a video game. For example,a game player might approach a vending machine whereby a variety ofbeverages are available and effectively advertised via their labeling,trademarks or other visual indicia. A user might select a particularbeverage for his character to enjoy in the course of the video game bypressing a button on his keypad that corresponds to purchasing aparticular beverage from the vending machine. These ‘virtual purchases’may be conveyed to advertisers in that the advertisement has not onlymade an advertising impression in that a user has seen the product orrelated advertising but taken some sort of positive interaction with theproduct (e.g., purchasing the product in the video game).

Similar game metrics may be implemented with regard to negativeconnotations. For example, if four beverages are available, the user'sselection of one beverage may reflect negatively as to the other three.By further example, a user may be presented with a vending machine fortwo competing beverages; if the user takes some action relative one ofthe vending machines (e.g., destroying it with a weapon), that act toomay reflect negatively relative advertising metric information.

Through tracking user interactions with advertisements in a video gameenvironment, the video game effectively becomes a user feedback servicesimilar to an advertising focus group. Feedback may also be registeredthrough explicit interactions wherein a user may expressly provide theiropinion of a product or service relative the game environment. Forexample, the user may be prompted as to their opinion of a particularproduct; the user may then press ‘up’ for a positive reflection or‘down’ for a negative reflection.

Interactions via, for example, a microphone input are also possiblewherein the user provides feedback in connection with the advertisement.Such feedback may be transmitted to an agent on the other end of thecommunication channel or passed through speech recognition softwarewherein certain keywords as they relate to a product are recognized andcategorized.

To address the feedback features, the impression tracking system mayinclude functions or may interact with functions capable of solicitingor recording user reaction to an advertising campaign. For example, anadvertiser may deploy an advertising campaign defined by advertisingcontent that is loaded into a tag with program or pointer to program(s).Such programs may signal the user to perform actions. Other programs maymonitor user reaction in and about the advertisement or in responsethereto. For example, one such program that may be invoked whenaccessing a loaded advertisement tag includes a reference to a speechinput requirements and definitions.

Advertising beyond the traditional flat, print advertisement may also beimplemented utilizing the presently described in-game advertisingsystem. For example, in addition to billboards or single page ad copy,rotating billboards may be utilized wherein triangular panels in thebillboard rotate relative to one another thereby effectively providingthree-billboards-in-one. The billboard panels then rotate every fewseconds to reflect a new advertisement on each panel as occurs in thereal-world. In this way, a single game asset can be tagged for multipleadvertisement introductions.

Other ads in a game environment may be movable. For example,advertisements may be located on the sides of buses that traverse citystreets or a series of flyers that might blow down an alley. Televisionads with full motion video and audio ads as might be emitted over aradio or a telephone in a gaming environment are also envisioned asbeing implemented in the present invention.

Just as certain advertisements have higher demand in the real-world(e.g., high traffic areas), certain advertisements in a video gameenvironment may enjoy higher pricing as a result of high traffic areas.For example, advertisements that appear in the beginning of a video gameor a level wherein every user will view the advertisement inherentlyhave more value than an advertisement located in a ‘secret Easter Egg’level or extremely difficult level that many users may never reach.

Other embodiments of the present invention may include rewards based onuser interaction with particular advertisements. For example, if a userprovides actual feedback in a video game environment, the user mayreceive merchandise, points or coupon rewards from the producer of theproduct as an appreciation for their opinion. Such informationconcerning where to send a reward may be expressly provided during afeedback session or as a result of an association with a user profile.This latter case would be valuable wherein points or rewards are offeredfor less explicit interactions (e.g., not in response to anadvertiser/feedback query) such as casual interactions or favorablebehavior relative an advertised product and points or rewards accumulateover time.

Advertisements, especially those ads that are audible in nature or arefull motion video, may be subject to real-time limitations. For example,a user in a video game may be changing the channels of a television inthe video game environment. If the user only watches two seconds of theadvertisement, an impression may or may not be generated. Suchlimitations in the case of real-time advertising may be subject not onlyto an impression area but also an impression time and even an impressiontime relative particular portions of the advertisement.

For example, an advertisement may be thirty-seconds in length but thefirst five-seconds do not indicate the nature of the product and thelast five-seconds concern legal boilerplate required by the particularadvertisement. If an impression time is identified as five-seconds,watching the first or last five-seconds of this particular advertisementwould technically constitute an impression notwithstanding the fact thatthe user knows nothing more about the product after those five-secondsthan he did prior. In these cases, limitations as to impressions ofparticular portions of an advertisement may be implemented. For example,for an advertiser to consider there to have been an impression, the usermust not only view five-seconds of the advertisement but thosefive-seconds must be within the middle 20-seconds of the 30-secondadvertisement.

Video or audio ads may also be subject to start-stop loops. That is, theadvertisement starts when the user accesses the advertisement (e.g.,tunes to a radio station playing the advertisement) and then stops whenthe user leaves the advertisement (e.g., changes the radio to anotherstation). If the user then changes back to the original station with theadvertisement, the ad may commence where it left off as if no time haspassed. Such a methodology better ensures an impression but does so atthe risk compromising reality (i.e., real-time passage of time is not ineffect). The tag object may track the state of the advertisementimpression, such as the index into the location in a video file to startthe next sequence for the one or more tags associated with theadvertising video loop.

Video games, radios and televisions that offer the user the ability tochange channels may be associated with features to track multipleadvertisement impressions and campaigns. When a user changes a channelor directs a virtual character in the game environment to change achannel, new advertisements may be provided. Such advertisement changesmay be transitioned with white noise or a familiar blur associated withchanging a channel according to the nature of the device. Radio ortelevision devices may be configured with channels that access bothtraditional programming, advertisement content or other content. Othercontent may include chat wherein the device facilitates communications.Other content may also include other information in connection with thegame. Generally, the mixing of advertisement and other content in suchdevices may have the benefit of catalyzing user exposure toadvertisements since the use of the device and changing of the channelsmay be necessary to facilitate game play.

Other advertisements may be rendered or emitted in true real-time. Forexample, if a television advertisement in a video game is two minutes inlength and the user changes the channel in the video game afterthirty-seconds of viewing the advertisement but comes back to the samechannel thirty-seconds later, the advertisement will now be at the 60second point and not the 30 second point as in a start-stop embodiment.

While real-time advertisements may be more realistic, ensuring animpression becomes more difficult relative the portion of theadvertisement the user viewed as has been previously noted. Certainimpression, especially in the real-time video and audio sense, may besubject to ongoing impression limitations. For example, an impressionmay constitute viewing 30 seconds of a one minute advertisement. Theuser may, at one point in the game, view a first 10-seconds of theadvertisement, view a second 10-seconds at a different point in the gameand view yet another 10-seconds at another point in the game. In thisinstance, the user—albeit piecemeal—may have viewed enough of the adover the course of time to constitute an impression.

Other advertisements may limit an impression opportunity to consecutivetime or such piecemeal viewing/listening but within an overall timeframe. For example, viewing the advertisement in 10-second snippets maysuffice as an advertisement but they must occur within 15 minutes of oneanother. Other advertisements may require the thirty-seconds to occurconsecutively or an impression has not been established.

Some of these real-time/consecutive impression implications addressedabove are reflected in FIG. 36 of the present application. FIG. 36illustrates the positional relationship of an in-motion game character3620 relative an advertisement 3610 in an impression area 3630 in a gameenvironment 3600. In FIG. 36, the game character 3620 is positioned inthe impression area 3630 of advertisement 3610. The impression area 3630is also populated with obstacles 3640 _(A) . . . 3640 _(D). As the gamecharacter 3620 traverses the game environment 3600, the line-of-sight ofthe game character changes from an obstructed line-of-sight (as wouldoccur behind obstacles 3640 _(A) . . . 3640 _(D)) and an unobstructedline-of-sight 3650 _(A) . . . 3650 _(D). An impression counter (notshown) would move between an on-and-off state as the line-of-sightalternates between obstructed and unobstructed (3650 _(A) . . . 3650_(D)) lines-of sight.

For example, as the game character 3620 moves past object 3640 _(A), theimpression counter would begin to measure the existence of an adimpression as provided by unobstructed line-of-sight 3650 _(A). As thegame character passes behind object 3640 _(a), the impression counterwould stop measuring the existence of an advertisement impression as aresult of now obstructed line-of-sight. Once the game character 3620emerges from behind object 3640 _(a), an unobstructed line-of-sight(3650 _(B)) once again exists and the impression counter again wouldbegin to measure the existence of an advertisement impression from thestop point of the previous impression. The measurement of anadvertisement impression would continue in a similar fashion as the gamecharacter 3620 passes in between remaining objects 3640 _(B) . . . 3640_(D).

In the present embodiment, as the impression counter starts-and-stops,any one segment of time correlating to an advertisement impression maynot constitute a single advertisement impression. The ongoing exposureto the advertisement 3610, albeit in an interrupted fashion, may overthe course of time constitute an ad impression. For example, by theimpression counter reaching a certain time period (e.g., from startpoint to a point three seconds in time later), this time period may (asa whole) constitute an ad impression. Such a measurement methodologywould be desirous in instances where a game character passes by, forexample, a number of pillars; a rod iron fence, a series of windows, ora crowded room.

The above description is illustrative and not restrictive. Manyvariations of the invention will become apparent to those of skill inthe art upon review of this disclosure. The scope of the inventionshould, therefore, be determined not with reference to the abovedescription, but instead should be determined with reference to theappended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

For example, the embedded advertising ‘tags’ as described in the presentinvention may be further applied to digital video and audiosignals—television and audio broadcasts, for example—as well as moviesfilmed in a digital format whereby advertisements or other content maybe inserted into previously generated audio and/or video content.On-line media such as on-line magazines, newspapers and blogs may alsobenefit from the implementation of tagging advertising assets (e.g.,particular column inches or steaming news broadcasts) as present-dayadvertising methodologies such as pop-ads become less effective and/orless popular. Advertising content may be offered by network and/orcontent providers (e.g., cable providers) whereby advertising content isoffered on-demand.

Additionally, the various impression area and occlusion conceptsdisclosed herein may be applied to audio advertisements or other audibleemissions. For example, a radio or other audio emitting object may bedefined, in part, by an impression area. Such an impression area wouldbe determined in a manner similar to an impression area as it concerns avisual advertisement. An impression area in the context of audio wouldbe representative of where an audio advertisement or other audioemission may be heard by the character in a game environment as thevolume of the audio emission decreases as the character moves furtheraway from the advertisement in three-dimensional space or if thecharacter is located behind an object in which case the occlusiondetermination concepts become applicable (e.g., does a wall separate thecharacter and the audio signal). The quality of audio impressions mayalso be determined in a manner similar to quality determinations withvisual advertisements with regard to not only distance but the extent towhich an intermediate object might absorb the sound, for example, a paneof soundproof glass versus a thinly constructed wall.

The asset tagged to receive an advertisement may be movable androtatable and may be programmed to dynamically orientate towards theuser camera as the user manipulates around the game environment. Adcampaigns may be interleaved with special programming. Specialprogramming may influence ad campaigns, variables in the tags relatingto the ad campaigns, or may relate to the game environment. Specialprogramming may influence (e.g., terminate or replace) an ad campaign ormodify variables or functions contained in an ad campaign or tag.Special programming may accommodate for dynamic reconfiguration andreuse of an advertising asset. For example, special programming may beused to communicate special messages, game messages, forum messages,facilitate chat and so forth. Special programming may also be used totransfer control of the advertising asset to the game environment sothat the advertising real estate can be used to convey game informationand other information.

Notwithstanding the providing of detailed descriptions of exemplaryembodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention may beembodied in various forms. For example, it is envisioned that theapparatus and method for executing a game program having advertisements;the customer election of auxiliary content; the provisioning ofauxiliary content on local storage during the download and/or access ofprimary content over a network; the in-contents advertising method; andadvertising impression determination methodologies disclosed in thepresent application may all be combined with one another individually,collectively, or in any other fashion as would be understood by one ofordinary skill in the art. Therefore, specific details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting but rather as a basis for theclaims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the artto employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailedsystem, structure, method, process, or manner.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method for pairing primary and auxiliary content, themethod comprising: establishing a communication link between a serverand end user device; transmitting an identification of media executingat the end user device over the communication link to the server;receiving primary content at the end user device, the primary contentreceived over the communication link and in association with the mediaidentification; executing auxiliary content in response to trigger dataembedded in the primary content, the primary and auxiliary contentexecuted at the end user device; and transmitting a record of auxiliarycontent executed at the end user device to the server over thecommunication link.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the primarycontent is an interactive game.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein theprimary content is a movie.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein theprimary content is music.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the end userdevice is a mobile device.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the enduser device is a game console.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein theauxiliary content is an advertisement.
 9. The method of claim 3, whereinthe trigger data is the appearance of a character in the interactivegame.
 10. The method of claim 3, wherein the trigger data is theappearance of a scene in the interactive game.
 11. The method of claim2, wherein the record of auxiliary content is used to calculate feesrelated to the playback of the auxiliary content at the end user device.12. The method of claim 2, wherein the record of auxiliary content isused to determine whether the primary content is provided free ofcharge.
 13. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting userinformation to the server from the end-user device, the user informationcorresponding to the primary content made available for receipt at theend-user device.